MollyWobbles

Spoons (xii)

Clocks, metronomes, and the mechanics of standing.

Playlist:
1. "Lightning" by mehro (Aug. 17)
2. "Best I Can" by American Authors & Seelo (Aug. 18)
3. "You're Enough" by Sleeping At Last (Aug. 19)
4. "Brick by Brick" by American Authors (Aug. 20)

[CW: Allusion to intimacy/Implied intimacy; brief discussion of body image insecurity]

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Part IV: "Spoons" (xii)

Arthur

August 17, 1968

"That was a disaster," Arthur said. His voice was light and mild, but the weight of the sky seemed to press right between his shoulder blades. Made it a bit hard to breathe, really.

They were sat on the patio, watching the long grass ripple. Well, actually, he wasn't watching anything but the inside of his hands. Arthur loosened his necktie with a sharp tug.

Molly sighed. "I know."

His heart sank even further. "I'm so sorry, Molly," he whispered.

Fabian had a scar—permanent. Right down his face. Tricky, to scar a wizard without dark magic. But not impossible. Sometimes, well-intentioned protections could do just as much harm as evil curses.

And that awful thing Martin had muttered, right before he followed Roger out.

"You don't just marry the girl, Arthur, you marry the whole family."

He'd meant it as a condemnation of Fabian and Gideon's behavior. But it landed like a rather the opposite. Arthur was ashamed of the way Martin and Roger had acted all summer.

They meant well, but they seemed to always say the exact wrong thing around the Prewetts. They took offense to the slightest bit of teasing. They leapt to correct over petty, insignificant things (like what Arthur's favorite iced cream flavor really was when Fabian had dared to suggest the wrong variety for the desert course), eyeing Gideon and Fabian down their noses like the two were barbarians.

Gideon and Fabian could be a bit much sometimes, but truthfully, they'd been around when Roger and Martin hadn't.

And it seemed Roger and Martin resented that a bit, maybe. Resented how loud Arty laughed when he was walking with them, or how Arthur leapt to their defense each time.

"It's not your fault," Molly said.

"Feels like I'm too Prewett to fit with my own brothers and too Weasley to keep up with yours," Arthur said.

A heavy footfall landed behind Arthur.

He glanced up.

Fabian.

Half his face was still covered in plasters.

He dropped to sit on Arthur's left, dangling his feet off the ledge of the patio. "You keep up just fine, Arty," he said.

His arm fell around Arthur's shoulders.

"You saved my life, y'know," Fabian continued. "Last summer."

Arthur frowned. "I barely did anything," he said.

"There were a lot of those sods," Fabian said.

"You would've been fine," Arthur said. "You're good at dueling."

"Not that good," Fabian said.

Arthur shook his head.

He was only being nice.