He wasn't even mad when a note appeared next to Alex from Nat, saying they'd ignored yet another person at the door, but there was a waiting letter now. Whenever they finished.
Alex huffed a laugh to read it, turning to Julian lovingly. "Share a shower?"
Julian grinned back. "Yeah. I need one after that," he said, squeezing Alex's hand before sitting up. "Besides, I'm not ready to let you go yet."
Alex stroked a hand down Julian's back, a shiver of warmth against his skin. "Me, neither."
Sometimes, Julian thought as he revelled in the love drifting on their bond, it was good to be understood.
Chapter 2
The next morning they were up bright and early, going over their various work spaces while the brownies got their bags packed and ready to go to Chudleigh's. At some point, one of their families had gifted them an absurd traveling trunk designed specifically to keep suits neat and wrinkle-free, so they were somehow obligated to haul the thing out to Chudleigh's full of the sort of outfit Alex preferred to avoid whenever possible.
There was also the cats' basket, the three of them now the size of any normal cat and still growing after more than half a year. They'd considered driving themselves, but Jones had overridden them, citing both weather and that everyone else would be dropped off by a driver, so it would be strange for them to need parking for the duration.
"Everything's fine here," said Alex, looking around his work room. He'd bottled the last dose of the new energy-healing potion they'd been working on with Geoff, designed to heal someone's damaged energy pathways. It was inspired by Alex's dramatically broken arm from this fall, as well as the experiences he'd had with people whose magic had been wounded by dark artefacts and the like.
Everything was put away, work spaces neat as a pin, and he had no more excuses. Julian had already checked overthe specialised greenhouse table and declared it fine for the weekend without him, even.
Alex sighed and went upstairs, dragging his feet just enough that Alys scoffed at him.
"Get yourself by th'fire, lad, we'll feed you proper before trusting you to Chudleigh's." An already-prepared teacup floated past him, followed by a saucer and a single ginger biscuit.
Alex chuckled and complied, glad for the excuse not to dress in his finery just yet.
Food floated in, followed shortly by Julian coming through the French doors to the conservatory, laughing and talking. "I'm going, I'm going! I was done, anyway," he told Nat, who strode beside him.
"Ye weren't," said Nat with a little snort.
"He zapped me!" said Julian, as if telling on a naughty child.
"Ye prob'ly deserved it," said Alys. "Sit and eat. There'll be snacks in yer trunk, too, in case those people don't feed ye right."
"Yes, Alys," said Julian, sitting despite his cheeky singsong.
Alex rolled his eyes and kissed Julian's flushed, cool cheek. "And how is your wintering greenhouse?"
"It's mostly asleep, aside from those things from other climates that are enjoying being sort-of-indoors for the winter," said Julian with a sigh. "I just worry, you know how it is."
"I do know," said Alex, kissing his nose this time. "Alys also worries, however, so it's best that we stuff ourselves silly."
Julian huffed a small laugh and took a sip of his tea first, then turned his attention to the other things on the tray, so Alex followed suit.
First there were stuffed mushrooms, a treat in the dead of winter, full of cheese and herbs and breadcrumbs from Alys' own good bread. She'd also given them bread with a different, softer cheese spread on it, as well as dishes of her spiced pickled carrots and the less-spicy gingered peaches she'd canned this summer. The main dish was roast pork with apples, potatoes, and leeks, a sweet-savoury treat covered in a rich sauce that combined all those flavours and some herbs and spices besides.
Alex set to feeling very spoiled indeed, and despite the giant spread, was hoping for dessert as well.
Once he'd finished his carrots, he found the bowl replaced with crispy Brussels sprouts roasted with bacon, the tray still nearly as full as when he'd begun. He dug into those alongside the rest of his triple plate of pork, saving the peaches for small treats when the rest seemed too heavy. The mushrooms, too, went fast, but those she didn't bother to replace.
When every bite of pork and crumb of bread were gone, the trays emptied themselves, leaving them with fresh cups of tea and rather full bellies. Julian was radiating satiation through the bond, though Alex could tell they'd both be able to make room, in the way of mages, should there be yet more.
"That was amazing, Alys," said Julian, flopping against Alex with a hand on his stomach.
"It was really delicious," agreed Alex. "You really went all out for our going-away dinner. Well, lunch."
"Meal," said Julian with a giggle.
Alys rolled her eyes at their antics, but preened under the praise anyway. About halfway through their respective cups of tea, another course did make an appearance, a sweet fruitcake laced with rum and topped with both a rich custard and a honeyed whipped cream.
