rabastan.
his harsh gaze immediately softened as a young boy opened the door , bright eyes regarding him with the same curiosity he received in return . he was beautiful . innocent . there was no denying it . but even rabastan knew this infernal world was filled with beautiful people of all ages , most of whom had hearts that were unequivocally hideous .
an angelic smile meant nothing , and he found himself wanting to snatch him up and hide the boy from that same infernal world rab thrived in. he wanted that innocence to remain intact . he was practically desperate for it . and when the young boy’s attention strayed from the door , an apologetic look shifting his wide-eyed features , rab fell in on himself .
look back , he wanted to say , unaware of the reason for his son’s sudden distraction .
he was an amalgamation of several different emotions , each pulling him in separate directions and reminding him again why it felt better not to feel anything at all . he didn’t know what to say , and rabastan lestrange always knew what to say . he was never at a loss for words and yet there he stood , silent and dumbfounded in the entryway of harper’s house .
her question made sense , and it was easy enough to answer , but he didn’t . he just shook his head and shrugged , lifting the items in his hands as if to confess he had no fucking idea what he was doing . this wasn’t his league . he was used to playing a completely different sport .
“ i know , ” he admitted with a smile so gentle , it was reserved especially for her . giving a nod , he walked into the house , eyes scrutinizing the details of every nook and cranny . rab looked back , his attention soon finding the young boy again . “ your name is malachy ? ” he asked kindly , remembering hearing it being shouted earlier on . “ i knew a malachy once , ” he lied , but only with the best intentions . “ strongest man i’ve ever met .
“ actually , now that i mention it … you look pretty strong too . ”
when she heard him talking to her son, she couldn’t help but smile — the comments were cute enough on their own, of course, but this was all harper had ever wanted. ever since the day she found out that she was expecting, pregnant with twins, she had longed to tell rabastan. even now, she wished that he been there in the months after their birth, during the time that harper spent learning how to be a mother. she had been alone for many months, yearning to for his company — she had wanted him to be right by her side, figuring out how to be a parent too.
it was tough, being a single mother to not only one but two children, but she wouldn’t have traded it for the world. a fact that she was reminded of when she looked down at her son who was smiling up at rabastan, nodding his head up and down enthusiastically in response to his father’s question. “ show him your muscles then, big man! ” an effortless laugh escaped her lips as she watched malachy flex his biceps — he was grinning from ear to ear, eager to show someone else (other than his mother) how strong he was. she leaned down and placed him on the ground before squeezing his arm gently. “ run along now. go find your sister for me. tell her there’s someone very important that i’d like her to meet. ”
“ i’ve missed you. ” she sighed, turning to face rabastan, the corners of her lips turned down in a slight frown. it had been so long since she’d seen him, since he had walked out of her life. reaching down, she laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a squeeze. she sat there, for a few moments, relishing in the feeling of finally being able to touch him again. “ thank you. for stopping by, i mean. you don’t know how much it’ll mean to them. ” and to me, she wanted to say, but she held her tongue.
her daughter walked into the room and she grinned, happy to see her little girl. after she realeased rab's hand, she squatted down, scooping her daughter into her arms. standing up, she turned to face rab once again. “ saoirse, meet rabastan. rabastan, meet saorise. ” she joked. “ do you want to hold her? ”
