[dahliental] les nuits étoilées || prosper

He grinned, “She asked, I didn’t actually tell her the whole story, though,” he clarified. He could only imagine that his mother could sense that something was off because she simply told him that if he wanted to talk more about it she would listen and left it at that. Thankfully, his father had not asked about it because whatever Léon would have said would have probably not come out as pleasantly as it had when he had spoken to his mother. It wasn’t that Léon hated the man, he was just difficult to talk to. “Probably just worried about Adrien or Pierce,” he figured. It felt more serious than that but Léon didn’t want to think about what that implied, especially not right now.

“True,” he conceded. Their mum was in a category all of her own, dealing with four boys must not have been easy but somehow she had always been the person they could unequivocally rely on. Léon closed his eyes for a moment, feeling completely relaxed now and a little bit tired. “She plays both roles rather well,” he added, stopping himself before saying something about their father he would probably regret later. “Maybe she can start relying on us a little more now that we’re older.”

“Yeah,” He said, one eyebrow quirking involuntarily as his mind followed that line of thought. Prosper really didn’t get on well with their dad, it was no secret. Léon clearly didn’t either. He didn’t say any more on the topic, but Prosper thought he and his little brother were probably thinking similar things. Maybe they’d talk more explicitly about that someday.

Absentmindedly, Prosper wondered what it would have been like to be the oldest or the youngest in his family. Imagine going to school and not yet having any siblings there? Or imagine everyone graduating, and then being by yourself? The same sort of went for their household, too. There wasn’t a time when Prosper lived at home that it was just him and his parents.

He liked the next part, though. Prosper glanced at his little brother, still lying there and staring up at the stars. He couldn’t help but smile a bit, affection tingeing his expression. “Yeah, maybe she can,” he agreed. He knew the kid could be an idiot sometimes, but Prosper really didn’t understand what Léon had been saying earlier about people not liking him or whatever. He was sweet. He cared.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, nudging Léon’s leg with his foot. “Mum said something about profiteroles earlier…?”

Léon couldn’t begin to imagine the sort of responsibilities involved with being a parent. Not that he had ever given it much thought, especially considering that his mom had always had a way with making everything seem possible with a little care and work. In a way, Léon was grateful that he had an escape waiting for him at the end of summer so whatever inconveniences he had to put up with, or whatever his father said that rubbed him the wrong way, he could simply forget about it upon his return to Beauxbatons. His mom, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. Maybe Léon wasn’t being fair to him, who knew the sort of relationship his parents had when he wasn’t around.

He propped himself up on his elbows at the mention of profiteroles, grinning at his brother and suddenly feeling very awake. “Better, actually,” he said genuinely. His jaw was still in pain but a heavy load had been lifted off of his shoulders and he felt much lighter, less worried about how things might turn out for him the following year. Sitting up all the way, he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder for a moment, “Thanks,” he said, his expression serious so that Prosper would understand just how much he meant it. “For always listening and offering advice and letting me talk through my shit,” he explained. "Couldn't have asked for a better brother myself," he said pausing for a moment.

Léon could only imagine how different the conversation would have turned out if he had been speaking to Adrien or Pierce, how they might have laughed at him or lectured him, or probably done a hundred other things he wouldn’t have cared for. There was a reason why Prosper was his favorite brother, probably along the lines of reasoning behind why he loved his mum so much. They actually listened. "Okay, I'm done being a big baby now."

“Let’s get to those profiteroles before dad eats them all,” Léon teased with a grin.

/end

“Good,” Prosper said decisively, meaning it. He always felt confident that he could help out, but it’d be a blow if he hadn’t been able to. Despite all his teasing, Léon wasn’t actually a baby anymore, and if he were completely honest, Prosper had to do a little adjusting to connect with him on a more equal level. He’d been a big, show-offy, advice-giving older brother for almost all his life now, but Léon was growing up.

So their relationship needed to grow up too.

“I’ll always be here,” Prosper said genuinely, despite the fact that he was sometimes a little patchy when it came to communication. As always, he resolved to do better. He got to his feet, then held a hand out to help Léon up.

“C’mere you big baby.” Prosper said, pulling his brother in for a proper hug, unphased as he wobbled a little on the uneven surface. The half a bottle of wine (two thirds maybe?) was hitting him harder now that he was upright. He gave Léon a tight squeeze; he and his brother had both struggled with different masculinity-related hangups over the years, but he’d never held back with this type of affection. “You’ll be alright,” he said, patting his brother on the back as they pulled apart.

He gave Léon a charismatic half-smile. “Lets get in there, then,”


/end