“There has to be an easier way to keep everyone informed.” Sebastian mumbled half to himself.

Edmund shrugged. “At least we worked out when we can get all together. Can you imagine how much worse it would be if we had to talk to everyone individually to make plans?”

“Do not speak of such horrors!”

Organising a meeting to discuss the latest supernatural problem was already too much. Of course, they only had to call Nick and Emily, the Emporium, and Garret – and step just upstairs to invite the elves and Obsidian – but making sure everyone could actually make it to the meeting was a logistical nightmare.

Persephone and Hayden were still doing interviews and Emily had a bunch of work to catch up on since she’d practically abandoned Marcie the last few weeks. Nick was doing prep work for the seer ritual, Garret had taken a double shift at the station, and Obsidian was just as uncooperative as ever!

Sebastian had been tempted to leave the dragon to sulk, or whatever it was they usually did; but in the end, the more options and allies they had for this, the better. He wasn’t sure that a dragon could be useful against a water demon though. The fire breath would probably just create a bunch of steam.

“If a water demon gets too hot, does it become a steam demon?” He wondered aloud.

Ed paused. “When water becomes steam, the molecules get pulled apart, right? So it would probably die from being torn apart.”

“But what if its consciousness just stretched out? It’s still technically water. Then it could form little puddles of itself when it eventually reverted to a condensed rain form.”

“Babe, I am barely passing normal science – and I don’t know shit about demon science.”

“Good thing that isn’t a school subject then.” Seb joked, grinning – mostly because of the term of endearment that Edmund had used – and also a little because it was kind of funny to be talking about ‘the science behind water demons’.

Speaking of school, we need to sort something out for Daisy soon, don't you think?

Maybe. It would probably be good for her to socialise, but we’re going to need an adult’s help.

Edmund raised an eyebrow. “You are an adult, Love.”

Sebastian grinned. “Yes, but it would earn a bit of attention from the staff at the junior high, to find that a teen who isn’t even finished with high school yet had custody over a middle schooler.”

“Okay, you do have a point there.”

The silence settled around them like a nice blanket. There was next to no noise in the house, apart from the faraway sound of movement upstairs, where Daisy and Luke were doing something together. The late afternoon sun streaming through the living room windows was casting everything in a golden light. Ed was sitting with his back against the arm of the couch, feet resting on Seb’s lap. He drew random patterns with his fingers gently on his ankles and shins. Edmund smiled and leaned his head on the back of the couch contentedly, but Sebastian noted there was still a tenseness in his [body].

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“You want to talk about it?”

“About what?”

“Whatever’s on your mind – and don’t try changing the subject on me. Or I’ll tickle the answers out of you.” Seb warned, tickling the soles of Ed’s feet a little.

Edmund shrieked and tried to pull his feet back. “Hey! You didn’t even give me a chance to say anything!”

“Then you should start talking.”

“Stop-” Ed cut himself off with another shriek of laughter. “Tickling me-” laughter “-first.”

Sebastian ceased his tickling, but kept hold of Edmund’s ankles, and grinned as the younger teen took a moment to catch his breath.

“You are a menace.”

“Your menace.”

Edmund let out a short laugh then sobered up. “Do you… Do you have any regrets about… doing this?”

Seb frowned. “This?”

“The supernatural crap.”

“Ah… Well, what do you mean by regrets?”

“Well, I know that the supernatural likely wouldn’t have been avoided, yeah, but we kind of got thrown in the deep end. Or I did, and you dove right in after me.”

“Of course. Do you regret it?”

“No – I… I’m happy with where we are but… You’re barely eighteen, and already have guardianship of two kids. It’s already a hassle to get things in order for the few people we have with us now, Moon only knows how things will be when we had more people. Plus the responsibilities that will come with having those people around, as a pack – our pack.”

Sebastian pursed his lips thoughtfully. “It is… a lot. But I’m glad that we ended up here too, you know? Like you said, Eddie, I dove in after you. I chose to do this, because I love you. And being responsible for a few extra lives isn’t going to change that.”

“Even if it means arranging meetings like this regularly?”

“Well, I would hope we don’t have to deal with shit like ‘vengeful water demons’ frequently, but it would probably be a good idea to have meetings once a week or something. A lot does happen in our lives – especially on the supernatural side and keeping everyone informed that way would be good.”

“It would.”

They lapsed into silence again, although this time, the tension in the air was far more palpable. Sebastian shifted around and moved to tuck himself between Edmund and the back of the couch. It was a bit hard, especially considering there was barely enough room for the two of them to lay like that, but Edmund moved with him and held him close, so they fit perfectly.

“It’s okay to be nervous about having this much responsibility, Eddie. But we can do it.” Sebastian whispered. “You can do it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know you’ve looked after me all these years. I know you pulled me out of depression after I lost my dad. I know you would fight someone with ten times your experience to protect us. I know you are gentle and understanding with Luke. I know you treat Daisy like the little sister you never had. I know you are kind, and strong, and brave, and everything that a good leader needs to be. That’s all I need to know.”

Edmund’s eyes shone with wonder and love, and Seb couldn’t resist pulling him into a kiss. It was soft, and sweet, and he wished they could just stay like that forever. But, of course, they had to breathe at some point, and pulled apart.

“I love you, Bas.”

“I love you too, Eddie. No matter what.”

Edmund sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. “No matter what.”

Sebastian knew that they’d need to get up and maybe prepare stuff for the meeting. Make sure there are enough chairs, and maybe have some snacks and drinks. But the peaceful look on Ed’s face urged him to pause. To soak in this moment while they could…