A bit of a filler chapter while I research a bit more about Indian culture to do the Soirée.

Indian readers, feel free to tell something that you would like me to remember/you'd like to see about the party!

LEAVE COMMENTS

Even if just a few days had gone by after the wedding, Pandora had already written Luna a letter from Haiti. It was long and very detailed about the cottage near the beach that they had rented and all about the way Xenophilius was attentive lover in every way possible – he had done breakfast after their first night together (which Pandora insisted she would tell Luna face-to-face, terrified that the letter would end up in the wrong hands), he had found a spell to clean her feet of sand because she hated the feeling of it, and he had even found a waterfall for them to go to and find algae.

"She shouldn't be writing you in her honeymoon, darling," Hope said, laughing at Luna's face reading the long and tiresome rambling about algae. "She has other things to be doing."

"I know, sex," Luna said, rolling her eyes.

"Getting to know how it feels to live with someone new," corrected Hope, slapping the back of Luna's head lightly. "Marriage is not only about sex, Luna!"

"It might as well be, because – according to this letter – there's a lot of it happening and I'll have to listen about it on the way back to Hogwarts," Luna said, fixing her hair and half-heartedly glaring at her mum. She sighed, getting the second page of the letter. "And there's a lot about the plants as well. Apparently, Haiti has a wonderful forest, and I'll also hear more about it when she comes back, though I'm not sure how much more I can hear when I have two... three... four pages of descriptions of beaches and plants."

Hope tried to take a peek at it. "Any other descriptions?" she asked, concerned.

Luna deadpanned a look at her mother.

"Nothing that I don't already know and nothing that I won't hear about again," Luna said, hiding the letter from her. "Oh, come on, Mum, we already talked about this. You already know the truth."

Hope sighed, going to the sink and putting her empty coffee pot on the water. It was Luna's turn to do the dishes.

"Just because you're no longer a virgin, it doesn't mean that I don't worry about your innocence," Hope teased her daughter. She smiled when Luna folded the page and took the next, still reading through the description of trees and flowers. "Now, where's your brother? Still asleep?"

Luna hummed, forming an answer while focused on something else.

"He had a nightmare. I thought letting him sleep in was for the better," Luna dismissed, not looking away from the words. "He thrashed around, but he didn't wake up."

"But you did?"

"I wasn't asleep," Luna answered.

Hope frowned. "And why is that?"

Luna's cheeks coloured a bit, licking her teeth while reading and glancing at her mum before looking back at the letter.

"I was writing to Regulus," she said.

"In the middle of the night?" Hope said, half-scolding her daughter.

"It's when his mum doesn't pay attention to his correspondence," Luna explained, putting the letter on the table and turning to look at her mother, eyes shining. "Actually, I was wondering something. Do you think he can come over today?"

Hope sighed.

"I got to work, baby," she said, tone apologetic.

"I know. While you're working, I mean. His parents are out in a party at a club or something like that, and he was wondering if he could come here... unchaperoned," Luna said. Hope took a deep breath, ready to scold her. "Remus will be here! Oh, Mum, come on! It's just that his mother is always over his shoulder, and it's really stressing everybody out. He wants to tell me something, I just know it, and she won't let him. She barely let go of his shoulder during the whole wedding."

"Luna –"

"I could be doing it behind your back, but I'm asking you," Luna reminded her.

Hope puts her hands on her hips in clear attempt of intimidating her daughter, but Luna smiles, uncaring for her mother's attempt of demonstrating anger, but failing for her lips were twitching to hid her laughter.

"Fine. Because your brother will be here," Hope said. Luna smiled. "You can write to him and tell him that he can come over."

"Oh, I already said he could come over," Luna admitted. "The difference is that if you said no, we'd probably stay outside."

Hope sighed again.

"Luna, you know how those people are about reputation and protocol, you know it can be dangerous for your future to just disregard it," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I worry, did you know? I'm not well-versed in these things, and I'm completely dependent on Euphemia's explanations and clues, it's exhausting knowing that I can't help you at all here."

"Well, that's the very reason she's my Guardian," Luna said. "I'm very grateful to her."

Hope gave a little smile.

"I owe a lot to the Potters, especially how my children turned out," Hope admitted, going to her daughter and kissing the top of her head. "But I need to go now, alright? I'm almost late already. Don't do anything I wouldn't approve of, Luna. Have a good day."

Hope slipped out of the kitchen, going to the door.

"I love you!" Luna called out.

Like a punch in the stomach, Hope noticed that she wasn't the sort to say it every day or to make it clear in every way. So, even though she was on the brink of being late, Hope walked back into the kitchen and kissed her daughter one more time.

"I love you, too, baby," she said.

And with one last look, seeing Luna's smile grow on her lips, hair still down and a mess from bed, she walked out of the house.

During the rest of the morning, Luna read and responded Pandora's letter, wrote to Barty about the book that she had read and was already cooking lunch when Remus walked down the stairs, bleary-eyed and still confused about how late he was waking up.

"Hey," he said, voice hoarse from sleeping.

Luna stopped mashing the potatoes and put the milk bottle to the side to look over her shoulder.

"Hey," she answered.

"It's eleven. Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked, frowning. He looked over her shoulder. "What are you making?"

"Shepherd's pie," she answered. "And you had nightmares the whole night. You seemed tired, so I let you sleep in. Mum left at seven, as always, and she said it was for the better to let you sleep it off."

"Did I keep you awake?" he asked, apologetic.

"I wasn't sleeping anyway," she said with a shrug. She hesitated, biting her bottom lip. "Hm... Do you have anything to do this afternoon?"

"Not really. I was thinking of finishing the summer's reading list, watch telly," he answered, sitting on the kitchen's chair. "Why? Do you want me to do the laundry?"

Without looking over her shoulder, she nodded. "That'd be lovely."

"Yeah, I can do it," he said with a shrug and sigh, he leaned on the chair, closing his eyes. "Give me five minutes and I'll start it."

"That'd be lovely, because Regulus is coming over for the afternoon, so it'd be nice to know you have something to do," Luna said, finally glancing over her shoulder again to peek at her brother's reaction. "Mum already said yes, so you can't say anything."

"That hateful woman –"

"Won't be here. He's sneaking out, an unchaperoned meeting," Luna corrected, stopping her ministrations, turning off the stove and turning to him completely. "So, really, I'd appreciate if you found yourself suddenly busy."

Remus narrowed his eyes at her, crossing his arms.

"Oh, am I to be busy? Does Mum know that you want me to be busy so you can get busy?" he said.

"Merlin, Remus! We'll be at the sitting room. How busy do you think we'll get with the neighbours being able to see us and you walking around the house? We'll talk and watch a film. Unless you do the laundry now and then stay in the bedroom to read, then – maybe – we'll snog." Luna said, annoyed.

Remus got up from the chair. He did not believe a single word she had just said, and the way her lips twitched to hold back a smile didn't help much her situation. He was far too aware that his sister had hopes of snogging her boyfriend and was doing everything possible to have alone time with him, even cooking something that she wasn't all that into so he could eat it and be happy about lunch.

"Is that why you're doing Shepherd's pie, as a bribe?" he asked, smirk coming to his lips.

She raised her eyebrows.

"Is it working?" she asked.

"It depends. Where did you get the lamb?" he asked.

"The next road over, a quick run, really," she said, smiled at him. "Mrs Yumi asked after you, as always."

"You got it from the Kushner Butchery? That's expensive!"

"I had some money left from babysitting," she said with a fake nonchalant shrug. "And lamb is not that much more expensive than beef, it's just harder to find, but they got some yesterday. Mr Popov mentioned it to Mum, and I overheard it."

Remus groaned.

"Fine, I'll confine myself to the bedroom, but if I hear a single thing, I'm coming down and telling Mum I caught you at it," Remus warned, pointing a finger at her.

"You'll hear the bloody film and nothing more, otherwise I'll throw it away and start making kidney pie," she warned.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

Remus took a small spoon and put some of the mashed potatoes into his mouth, grimacing at the lack of seasoning (she hadn't gotten to that part yet) and stepped away.

"Where's your bloody laundry? I already took mine to the loft," he said.

"Mum's bedroom," she said, smiling at him. "Thank you!"

"The pie better be good," he grumbled on his way back towards the stairs.

And it was.

With the clothes drying on the lines on the backyard, Remus sat down the eat the pie after Luna had already eaten her piece (a small one, he noticed, but made no comment on it, just glad that she had eaten at all, something that she sometimes didn't do). He couldn't complain of his sister's cooking; though she wasn't a fan of cooking, she certainly did a good job at it and didn't complain when the chore's rotation pointed her to the kitchen – the pie was good, seasoned and still warm by the time he ate it.

He was on his last few pieces when the doorbell rang.

"LUNA!" he screamed; mouth full.

"WHAT?" she screamed back from the bedroom, where she was getting dressed.

"DOOR!"

"COMING!"

Running down the stairs in an orange sundress just above her knees, Luna flew past Remus to open the door.

From the kitchen, he could hear her talking to someone and the door opening and closing. He smiled to himself, amused about how her voice was slightly higher and softer in general when speaking to Regulus, as if... - he stopped himself at the thought – well, as a girl. Shamefully, Remus noticed that he often forgot about how Luna was a girl and not just his sister. It was no surprise he had been so taken aback when Sirius had mentioned that he had seen Luna as a girl and called her beautiful, or that he had been so upset at Luna for taking interest in one of his mates; he had forgotten that it was normal for girls to take interest in other people. Still, in his mind his sister would forever be the little girl that slipped into his bed during storms, not the girl he had caught snogging Regulus in the alcove.

Regulus stopped at the kitchen's entrance.

"Hello," he greeted, careful and polite.

"Hey," Remus said, awkwardly. "Hungry?"

"No. I've eaten, thank you," Regulus answered.

Luna stopped behind Regulus, hovering through the conversation with a warning in her eyes.

Remus cleared his throat and took a sip of his juice.

"I'll be out of your hair in a moment, yeah? Just... eating," he said, pointing at the half-eaten plate unnecessarily.

Luna nodded, reaching for Regulus' arm and gently pulling it.

"We'll be at the sitting room," she said.

Remus nodded, thinking about how he would be anywhere in the house but the sitting room.

Regulus was glad when Remus disappeared up the stairs, though he was still slightly tense, sitting beside Luna on the sofa, watching as she flicked through the channels of the television in silence.

"Now," Luna said as soon as her brother disappeared. "What happened? You wouldn't want to sneak out to meet me at my own house if something didn't happen."

"I'll bring a woman with me at the Potter Soirée," he said, suddenly.

Luna looked away from the telly, turning to him completely and putting the remote control down on her lap. Her facial expression was neutral, until her eyebrows went so far up her forehead that they looked an inch away from touching her hairline.

"Excuse me?" she said, voice even.

Regulus gulped.

"Mother –"

"Of course it's your bloody mother," she grumbled.

Usually, Regulus would defend his mother, but he really couldn't. Without any context, there was a reason for Luna to think his mother would push another woman into his arms as soon as she had the opportunity.

"Mother and Uncle Cygnus had an argument the morning after the Ministry Ball," he continued, giving her a warning look that there was more to come. Luna waited, nodding once to show him that she understood. "He hit her."

"What a cunt!"

The normalcy with which she had thrown the accusation made him blink in surprise before watching her for a second and electing to ignore her words and continue the story he had to tell her before she decided to kill him at the Potter Soirée.

"After I broke it apart and sent him away, my father and I decided he's no longer worthy of an attempt of appeasing, so we're cutting him off. With his separation from Aunt Druella, it's easier to set her up with an account of her own, and since my cousins are all already married off, we don't have to worry about them too much. However, there is someone that is somewhat dependent of him. Madame Lydia Zabini," he told her.

"The widow in green from that New Years' Ball, yes, I remember," Luna said.

Even if she wouldn't say so out loud, she had to admit that she was a beautiful woman and she couldn't simply ignore it. Even if the clothes she usually wore were considered somewhat revealing (they weren't that bad, Luna thought, but it was scandalous to pureblood society), she was an elegant woman and beautiful. Luna wouldn't throw any blame if Regulus' eyes wandered if she was nearby.

"She's been alone for quite a number of years; she had no children, and her last husband wasn't that wealthy. Since she's been with my uncle, there has been talking that he has been the one to keep her lifestyle afloat, so we'll need to help her. Father would never allow me to screw a man over without getting the women out of the way first," Regulus explained.

Luna narrowed her eyes at him.

"Our courtship is still standing, they can't marry you off to a thirty-year-old woman!" she said, voice sharp.

Regulus' eyes widened at her assumption.

"No! No!" he said, shaking his head and hands at her, as if calming a spooked horse. "Not me, Luna. Lady Potter's younger brother, but she'll stand by me – the Black Family will show support to her, so... rumours might..." he bit his lip.

She scoffed, shaking her head. She looked back at the telly, dismissing his worry and smiling in relief.

"Nobody will talk about you and a grown woman –"

"They'll say I'm fucking her, that much you can be sure," he said, blushing. Luna turned to him again, raising her eyebrows again. "Ms Zabini isn't known for her... modest behaviour, Luna. Before the affair went public, my uncle wasn't her only dear friend, if you understand what I mean. She's also known for being talented in the arts of – well, you understood it."

Luna frowned.

"Are you implying she's a whore?" she asked.

"I'm implying that she has kept herself afloat with talents that only very wealthy men are able to pay, and that includes sex, but not only that, and that there are rumours that my uncle met her in a brothel, where she went often to find company," he explained. "She wasn't working there, she was there to watch the dance shows, apparently they're rather common, according to my father."

"Your father?!" she asked, eyes widening.

"Don't ask. I didn't," Regulus said, closing his eyes in shame, face colouring once more as he shook his head, refusing to meet her eyes for a few seconds. He took a deep breath. "According to him, he hasn't been in years, but some establishments were known for shows such as these, and many men and women go for it, and many leave without company."

"Like a nightclub," Luna said, nodding. "Alright, I get it."

Regulus frowned this time.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Luna scoffed.

"I'm sixteen, I have never been in one, if that's your question, you jealous boy," she said, rolling her eyes. "There are films with it in it, it's nothing too shocking to me, Reggie."

"Don't –"

"...call you Reggie, I know," she said with a smile, she leaned forward for a quick peck on his lips. He softened. "I just mean that I understood what you meant, alright? Burlesque, striptease or whatever goes on in there. Dancing."

"Yes," he said, nodding. "Supposedly, they met because they shared a table. He left with her, and they have been meeting for more than her talents for quite a while."

"What talents are you speaking of, if you're not speaking of sex?"

"Tarot," he answered, smiling at her interest. "She's wonderful at it, apparently, and works in making and selling the cards."

Luna hummed, taking the remote and going through the channels again. Regulus waited for a few seconds before deciding he didn't like the silence.

"You know who's good with tarot as well?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"My mother," he said. Luna smiled, turning to him in surprise. "She did her own game, painted it all by hand. Father asks her to read it for him every now and then, and she sometimes does a reading for me. She did one not too long ago and was quite bothered by it."

"Oh, and why?"

Regulus leaned forward and to the side, getting his head in front of hers and blocking the television so he could take her lips into his, a deep kiss starting and finishing before he pulled away.

"According to it my love life will be amazing for a very long time," he whispered, kissing her lips again. "And my bed will not be empty."

"Strong words!"

"Hopeful words."

Luna pulled away, glancing at the stairs before getting up.

"Let me put a film on," she whispered.

Regulus wasn't sure if he wanted to watch a film (she had presented films to him during Christmas), and he wasn't sure he would be able to pay attention to it. His cognitive system was completely focused on Luna.

As soon as she left some Disney film going by and sat back down beside Regulus, smiling at him, he knew that she didn't intend on paying attention to it either, because she pulled him by the muggle shirt he was wearing (and joggers, which were certainly big on Sirius, so he wasn't sure why he had them) to kiss him on the lips again.

She leaned back until she was almost lying on the sofa, bringing him with her until he was almost on top of her.

"Your brother... he would kill me if he found us again," he whispered.

"Won't come down unless the house is on fire," she promised, kissing just side of his lip. He smiled. "I banished him with the pie."

Regulus chuckled, kissing her again.

Slowly, Luna pulled away enough and Regulus also did, confused by her reaction. Then, Luna put her legs over his, his thighs were under hers. It was a comfortable position, especially because when Luna pulled him back to the kiss, letting him almost lie on top of her again.

Mid kiss, Luna sucked his tongue into her mouth, teeth barely grazing against it. Surprised by the pleasant feeling of it and the way Luna smirked, going in for another kiss without a break. He bit her bottom lip gently, pulling it before going into another kiss, bravely putting a hand on her knee during the kiss, just under where her skirt ended – and slowly, during the kiss, his hand slid up her leg, under her skirt to rest on her thigh.

Luna put her hands on his shoulders and gently moved one of her legs, slipping to the side and sitting on his lap, straddling his legs and then leaning back slightly. Without hesitation, Regulus smirked and put his hands on her buttocks over the dress, ignoring the shy part of his nature which seemed to have won when they met at the inn.

"You're confident today," she teased.

"Am I not allowed to be?" he answered.

She giggled, hips moving slightly to feel his hands following the movement.

"I like confident you," she said.

The quiet sound of the film was fading into the background as they became wholly lost in one another.

He pulled her closer, lips moving urgently against hers, one of the hands sliding up again, but her skirt got caught in one of his rings, which meant that the skirt was dragged up for a moment before he groaned and moved his hand again, freeing his ring and caressing her face gently with it, moving her head to the side slightly so he could get a better angle to slip his mouth away from her and attack her neck.

Her breathing changed almost immediately, feeling his warm mouth finding her sweet spots accidently, still sloppy and uncoordinated. Finally, he realised her breathing and followed it until she sighed in delight, so he stopped at that moment, sucking on the spot under her jaw. She made a little noise and nodded. He chuckled, licking at it.

Luna leaned down, nibbling at his earlobe in exchange.

His hands now rested on her hips, then slid down to her buttocks once more in a slow caress.

He made a little noise.

"Sorry," he whispered, pulling down her skirt to cover the buttock that had been exposed accidently when the skirt was caught on his ring. "There."

"It's alright," she answered, leaning down to kiss his neck again.

Heat built up as soon as their lips meet again and –

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Luna's head shot up, away from his neck, her loose hair flying everywhere as her back went straight as a board with the sharp rapping at the door. Regulus' hand froze in place on her buttocks, eyes widening in complete fear. The couple exchanged a look while they tried to catch their breath.

"Is it my mother?" Regulus whispered, terrified.

Luna's ears strained.

"I don't think your mother would be knocking," she answered.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Neither of them moved, frozen in place.

"Excuse me!" the voice outside said. Luna's face paled. "I know you're in there, young lady!"

Luna jumped off Regulus, eyes widening as she fixed her dress and her hair. Her pale face and shaky hands made Regulus get up from the sofa, fixing his shirt and glancing at the door.

"What is it?" he asked, confused, but nervous as well.

"It's Mrs Crenshaw. Shit! Shit. Fuck! Piss! Bollocks!" she hissed at him.

Regulus had no idea who Mrs Crenshaw was, but he certainly didn't like the woman if that was Luna's reaction to her mere voice.

"I'm coming, Mrs Crenshaw!" Luna called out. She turned to Regulus. "You stay here."

Luna ran to the door, leaving Regulus sitting on the sofa with his hair dishevelled, looking as guilty as he felt. He reached for the remote control and pressed a few buttons until the film stopped with some cats on the screen.

"...saw you! Carrying it on like that!" the woman was spitting, as if the words left a bad taste in her mouth. Regulus got up, fixing his shirt once more and moved towards the door silently. "What would your mother think if she saw this? Your poor father, living so far away, would be appalled! This is what I mean about broken homes.

Luna opened her mouth from where she stood, leaning against the wall in clear exhaustion, but the woman – an elderly woman with white hair pinned up and muggle clothing, a small bag in hand – cut her off.

"I will have to tell your mother, of course, so she can have a good talking to you. I hate to be the one to do it, but someone needs to keep an eye on the youth while the adults are away working," she said, not sounding as sad about it as she looked.

"Mrs –"

Regulus raised his eyebrows, appearing right behind Luna.

Luna glanced over her shoulder and was about to tell him to go away, but too late. Mrs Crenshaw looked delighted to see him, eager to have a new victim.

"And you, boy!" Mrs Crenshaw said, pointing a bony finger at him. "You, young man, you should be ashamed of yourself, corrupting this poor young girl like that!"

Regulus blinked, surprised that somebody thought that he was the one doing any corrupting at all, but said nothing other than: "Madame?"

"What is your name, young man? I'm certain your parents would be grateful from a visit of mine. Where do you live?" Mrs Crenshaw asked.

"I'm Regulus Black, and my parents wouldn't be too glad about your presence anywhere near them, Madame," he said, posh accent clear. "Although I'm quite certain that they would be grateful with your silence. And they are quite... open with their gratefulness."

Luna glared at him. "Are you trying to bribe my neighbour?" she asked, jaw ajar.

He shrugged. He was doing his duty in protecting her reputation, he wouldn't be ashamed of how he got it done.

Mrs Crenshaw's face turned red.

"This is absurd!" she exclaimed. "How dare you?!"

The creak of the stairs made Luna squeeze her eyes shut and physically cringed, knowing far too well that Remus was coming down the stairs in confusion and worry, having heard the film stop and raised voices.

"Luna?" Remus called out.

"Door," she answered.

Regulus turned around, watching Remus raise his eyebrows at him in question, but he just shrugged, unsure of what was truly happening right there. Then Remus saw Mrs Crenshaw at the door and groaned loudly enough for the old woman to look somewhat offended by the reaction, but not offended enough to walk away from the conversation.

"Mrs Crenshaw, what is it now?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose quickly before looking back up at the woman. "Are you angry at me for doing laundry and hanging clothing when that's woman's work? Are you angry at Luna because she washed the dishes after preparing lunch instead of before?"

"You should know better, Remus Lupin! Letting your sister behave like a common harlot while you're at home!" the woman said.

"You biddy!" Luna said.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Regulus immediately said, voice raising. "Who do you think you are?"

Remus sighed, stepping in front of Regulus and slipping behind Luna to step around her as well, clearly taking over the conversation and ignoring the two altered people behind him that were just a few moments away from jumping the woman.

"What is happening?" Remus asked.

"She was on top of that boy! And you were in there, completely unaware. What a brother!" Mrs Crenshaw accused.

Mortified, Remus turned to look at Luna for answers, face flushed red. Luna, in turn, looked back at him sheepishly, unable to meet his eyes completely or defend herself on that accusation. Still, the woman had no right to use such words to describe her. Remus just had to take over the situation that was spiralling out of control.

"Mrs Crenshaw, please... it's not necessary to use such vocabulary to speak of anybody. I understand that you're part of the Morality Club of the neighbourhood, but this is just too much," Remus said. "You're looking through windows into the private homes of people, you're bound to see something that you won't like. My sister has my mother's permission to bring her boyfriend home."

"Your mother is aware that her daughter brought a man home?"

"Hardly a man, that's a boy," Remus grumbled. "But yeah."

"And you allow them to do whatever?"

"With all due respect, this is none of your business," Remus snapped. "My sister can make her own decisions and Mum will agree," he glanced over his shoulder to see his sister glaring at the woman and curling her lip in disgust. "It's 1976, things change!"

Luna's lips formed the word 'cunt' once more, but she didn't say it out loud because Regulus put a hand on her shoulder.

Remus walked back into the house, watching at the old woman opened her mouth to say something else, but he closed the door before she could.

Inside the home, however, the three stood in awkward silence as Remus turned to face the couple, his own face mirroring theirs in a mix of embarrassment.

"Who was that nosy woman?" Regulus asked.

"Our neighbour from across the street and the president of the Morality Club, they are an annoying bunch going around and telling our lot, the youth, they call it, what to do or not," Remus said. "When we don't follow their rules, they go and tell on us to our parents. Fucking pathetic."

"Mum's bound to hear about it," Luna summarised what that meant.

Regulus' face burned red before he calmed himself.

"We were just kissing," he said, hopeful that Remus would believe it.

Remus cringed.

"I don't care. I don't need to know. I don't want to know," he grumbled. He sighed loudly, looking at the ceiling before his eyes stopped at the telly's screen. "Fucking hell, Luna. How can you snog watching Aristocats?"

"We weren't watching, that's the whole point," Luna grumbled back.

When the siblings glared at one another, Regulus saw how similar their expressions were and he had to chuckle to himself, getting the attention of the two. Once it was clear that he wasn't going to share his thoughts, they exchanged another look.

Remus looked at his sister again.

"Pie?" he asked flatly.

"Fridge. One tiny slice for me," she answered, sheepish.

Remus turned to Regulus.

"Pie?"

"I'm not hungry," he answered.

"Juice?"

"Yes, please."

He hoped the cold liquid would make his face stop burning in shame.

I hope you all liked it.

Fun fact: I was caught with my ex-fiancée by a neighbour and that's how my extended family found out I had an SO before I was ready to tell them (only my parents and my grandfather, who lives with us, knew). Welcome to my trauma.