Light rain pattered against the streets outside the restaurant that Chris and Felix stood by the entrance of, waiting patiently for Felix's family members to arrive. The lack of rain felt like both a blessing and a curse to Felix, he didn't know whether to see it as a good sign or a warning.
"I don't even think Rachel is gonna come." Felix muttered as he anxiously fiddled with his engagement ring around the finger it sat comfortably on. They were stood under a bit of shelter around the edge of the building, a few metres away from the main entrance. Felix's head leaned onto Chris' shoulder, who wrapped his arm around him, pulling him in closer to his body.
"Olivia saw her this morning, didn't she? She'll show up, I'm sure of it. Don't stress bubba." He replied, kissing Felix's light orange locks on the top of his head softly.
"It's just... I don't know if-"
"Is that her?" Chris cut Felix off, moving his attention to the two women approaching them. "Olivia said she had a girlfriend, that must be the two of them then."
"Rach?" Felix called out, the two heads turning straight to him at the sound of his voice and quickening the pace of their walk.
"Lix!" Yet another Australian accent and a sweet smile plastered over her lightly freckled face, Rachel pulled Felix into a hug the moment she reached him. The other woman, who everyone had figured out was her girlfriend, merely smiled and shook Chris' hand before doing the same for Felix. Rachel also went over to shake Chris' hand. "So... who's this?" She asked, gesturing to the latter as she let go of his hand.
"This is my fiance, Chris." Felix smiled joyfully back, introducing him to her and then vice versa, "And Chris, this is my older sister Rachel."
"Pleasure to meet you, Chris. And it's great to see you again Felix." She spoke with a grin lighting up her features, before turning to the woman who stood patiently beside her. "This is Abby, my girlfriend. Turns out Liv is the only straight one of the three of us then, Lix!" She let out a light chuckle, brushing her fingers through her hair and reaching her hand over to Abby as she intertwined it with hers.
They four of them then waited again patiently for whoever was next to arrive, not much time passing by before whoever it was did just that.
And that just happened to be Olivia, who had seen all four of them earlier that day but still greeted them with wide smiles and sweet, warm embraces.
After she moved away from the hug she was having with Rachel, she then stepped back and paused for a moment. Her expression had gone from one bright and happy to one that visibly displayed her nerves for the evening. After all, both Olivia and Rachel hadn't seen their mother in a good few years and those last interactions weren't exactly ones they wished to remember.
Felix noticed how Olivia's expression changed and Rachel fidgeted with her girlfriend's fingers. He knew they were nervous, or even scared and he knew why. Honestly, so was he. He also knew their mother's actions weren't going to ever be forgivable, Felix could only hope his sisters could find what he found in his heart in theirs to give her a second chance.
"Please... try to enjoy tonight. Don't stress out or dwell on the past, tonight is our way of giving her another chance to be a good mum. I believe she'll pull through, I hope she will. You guys have to have hope too." Felix voiced, glancing his gaze between each of his sister's eyes as the words fell from his lips. The wind whistled lightly around them, only a few more drops of raining falling from the sky above before Felix could see his mother approaching in the distance. "Here she comes."
Olivia took a deep breath in as she mustered up the courage for that moment, Rachel squeezed Abby's hand quickly for as much of a brief confidence boost as she could gather. Felix leaned in closer to Chris for a moment, his lover pressing a gentle kiss to the near top of his head. The latter whispered something almost inaudible but still that Felix could hear clear as day, 'I've got you, darling'.
And then with the last click of her heels, Lina stopped still before them all. Clearly as anxious as her children were for that night, for a mix of reasons Felix could read and some he could not. A mix of reasons he could understand and likewise, some he could not.
"Hello, are you all ready to head inside?" Lina smiled slightly, her voice so clearly ridden with nerves that even Felix almost did a double take at the unsteadiness in her tone.
"Yeah. Let's go in, Mum." Felix agreed, nodding his head simply and guiding all of them towards the main doors of the restaurant. His hand was still intertwined with Chris', the latter squeezing it lightly every so often for a burst of reassurance and comfort for even just a split second of a moment.
They were led to a table big enough for them all by a waitress with long brown locks and thick framed glasses. The table was a dark oak wood, round structure with a long bench twisted around half of it that had simple navy blue material over the part you sit on for extra cushion. The lighting gave the entire room a nice aesthetic feel to it, immediately calming down everyone's nerves even just in the slightest ways.
They took their seats, Chris on the end with Felix to his left. Lina then sat beside him, with Olivia to her left and then ending with Rachel and Abby. Before they began reading through the menus the waitress had handed them all, discussing every now and again as they came to a decision on what to order.
And soon their meals then arrived, their choices of foods ranging from pastas to burgers to fancy ass chicken wraps with way to much dressing inside them. But still, they all enjoyed their meals, discussing various things and having plenty of laughs and smiles. They reminisced on the past, occasionally the bad but mostly the good. Allowing themselves to plan a future full of more smiles, laughs and memories to do the same for 30 more years down the line.
Honestly, none of them really expected it to go so well. They could only thank whatever was out there making it such a happy, beautiful night, for it all.
Their conversations were all over the spectrum on various things, weddings (of course), pavlova recipes and somehow, the time Chris' mate Jeongin fell down an elevator shaft (twice). But the conversations, no matter how random, certainly kept them entertained and made the evening ever so slightly more enjoyable than it would've been without the chaotic topics of chatter.
And then they bid their farewells at the end of the night, with hugs so tight someone could've burst a lung and with smiles so honest someone could've sworn they'd been like that all their lives. Even if they hadn't, they hoped and were gonna try to be like that from that day onwards.
SOMETH
BINABASA MO ANG
+ + Something Sweeter ++ - Chanlix
Fanfiction++ Rainy Days and Something Sweeter, You can still find A Treat after something that Tastes Bitter ++This is the sequel of Something Sweet! Please read that first, otherwise this will make no sense. (cover designed by me)
