silver | d.m.

32.silver's

April 2005 | H E R

"On takoy krasivyy."

"Ya mog by smotret' na nego ves' den'."

"Predstavlyat' sebe, kak budut vyglyadet' yego deti."

Tiana smiles to herself at the not so quiet whispers her aunts are sharing opposite her at the outdoor table.

Someone leans into her side—that someone being object of said whispers and very indiscreet ogling. "What are they saying?"

Putting the cutlery down on her plate, she locks eyes with silver hues, bright and clear in the midday sun. "They find you very handsome."

"Oh." His cheeks flush. Then his head dips to try and hide it.

"U nego krasivaya zadnitsa. Dolzhno byt' priyatno vzyat' yego."

As her aunts burst into good-hearted cackles, Tiana is gasping at the dirty-mouthed one, a smile of her own curling. "Tetya Inna."

"Zayka, ty naslazhdayesh'sya etim sam," aunt Inna jeers as the two others wipe their tears away, looking about ready to piss themselves.

Heat crawls up Tiana's neck all the way up her cheeks as she widens her eyes at the cheeky woman, whose bright blue eyes crinkle in delight.

Draco looks dumbfounded. "What are they saying now?"

Clearing her throat, she opens her mouth to answer, but the words get stuck. How can she possibly tell him that her aunt likes his butt. He's having too much of a good time to make him feel assaulted.

He glances between her recovering aunts and a hesitating Tiana. "They're not making fun of me, are they?"

"No," she holds onto his shoulder, stifling a laugh herself. "Tetya Inna finds you the most handsome."

"The most," said woman underlines with her strong accent.

It's clear to say the aunts love him.

As does Sasha, who is sitting down the line on this long table that fits the sixty people present. Half is strewn across the small yard, though. Anytime she looks their way—Draco's way—she's blushing like crazy, since to her, he's meassuring up to a celebrity.

To most people, he does. Many looks are thrown his way, because, c'mon, he is a beauty, but there's still something relaxed about it. And with time, Tiana can see him loosen up, shake the anxiety off.

Everyone loves him and that is nowhere near an exaggeration.

Next to him, someone taps his bicep. And when he turns, a small voice says. "Can you finish the fries for me."

Bafflement flickers his features, whereas Tiana presses her lips together from a laugh. "Excuse me?"

"Dasha..." Tiana starts softly, about to advise that he surely wouldn't want to do that, but the four-year-old's worried face is too damn cute.

Her hazel eyes are big when she says, "Mama said I need to finish before I can have cake."

Tiana leans over the table a bit more to see her little cousin better. "And why can't you finish, maya lapachka?"

"Then I can't eat cake," innocent desperation clings to her words. "Then I'm too full."

Draco looks at Tiana for guidance and since knowing this exact struggle from back in the days, begging the closest person to finish her food, she simply shrugs, leaving the decision to him.

Dasha is doing her most convincing puppy dog eyes at him, putting that lower lip to work as well. "Alright," he yields to the display of cuteness. "But I can't eat the ones with ketchup."