Prompt - Something Lost, Something Found

[infringe]

SONG OF THE SEA ( joshua, alecto ) A selkie far from home, searching for his coat. He meets a kind, lonely, young fisherman who tends the lighthouse near the sea.

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[infringe]

Alecto has the windows open, the curtains billowing dramatically in the seawind all around him as he prepares the rest of supper (bread sweetened with molasses; roasted mackerel with gooseberry sauce; a cold pot of vichyssoise from the night before; apple cider and mulled wine to drink), arranging everything on the dinner table with a charming set of mismatched plates and bowls. He hears the commotion at the door ("Avery, don't run," he said. "Yes, momma," Avery said, running -) and smiles to himself. It was a little ritual that repeated itself every evening and yet Alecto never got bored of it. Instead, he very much looked forward to it. Because it meant the love of his life was finally home for the day.

He sees Joshua like it's for the first time, every time, their eyes meeting across the room: Joshua's warm amber squared to Alecto's chilly moonglow. And instantly, his heart melts. It always does, without fail. Even more so now, lately, at the sight of him with their child, an adorable disaster of a boy ("My little tidal wave," Alecto cooed at him when he was but an infant, lulling him to sleep with old sea shanties that no one sings anymore, lost to the pillage of time). He was only four years old but already as wild and free as the wind ("We gave him a name with too much power and now look at him," Alecto had laughed, watching Avery roll about in the swarm of spotted harbor seals that were his equally mischievous cousins, tempting riptides and chasing seabirds with careless courage - ), deeply stubborn and opinionated about nearly everything ("I wonder where he gets that from," Joshua has whispered to him, his arm around Alecto's tiny waist - ).

"Darling," he says, and then looks down as Avery runs to him. His son throws his little arms around his mother's legs and squeals. Alecto smiles, pats a pale hand through the boy's mop of dark hair, calm and tender. "Go wash up now, and don't let me catch you sneaking a bite of the pudding again."

"Oh, alright," Avery relents, into Alecto's legs, in a hilarious imitation of Alecto himself whenever he was a bit annoyed at something.

Alecto huffs and pats his son's rump to speed him along; the boy is likely lying about being on good behavior, likely thinking already of a way to trick his way out of his promise or convince his mother into some sort of compromise - which Alecto will most certainly agree to even as Joshua sighs at him about it. What can he say, he was soft on the child, he couldn't help it. The moment he was born, Alecto knew he'd give his all for him.

[singinthestorm]

"Anything I can do to help?" He asks, kissing the top of Alecto's head, careful to stay out of the way of what he's doing at the moment, but looking at all his preparations with interest. "There should still be plenty of daylight left after dinner; should we go see if your sister's family are around?" He was, if he was being honest, hoping that Avery would tire himself out a bit, frolicking in the waves after dinner and the long walk back and forth; then, when he had finished setting the lamps for the evening, he could come back and help put him to bed for the evening, and maybe spend some uninterrupted time with Alecto.

[infringe]

"No, no, it's fine. Just don't be disappointed come dessert. I think Avery's eaten nearly half of it already." He leans into the kiss and then fully into Joshua's body, snuggling into him as they stand. A happy sigh escapes him as he wipes his hands on the apron around his waist.

The sounds of their son smashing things about by the sink as he washes is making Alecto grin. He knows what his husband is thinking in asking for what he just asked and he chances a glance up at him, bright eyes suggestive and perceptive. "Funny you should ask. Your son has been pestering me about a sibling for the past month. He's relentless, you know."

[singinthestorm]

"Oh no," he says with mock dismay, catching Alecto as he leans in, just enjoying the contact between them. "I'll just have to fill up on all the other delicious things you made instead."

He blinks, briefly surprised by the apparent change in topic, but by now he's generally familiar with how Alecto's mind works, and he half laughs when he realizes what he's implying. "We should probably give Pippa a little more notice than that, shouldn't we?" he points out, but clearly not opposed to it as he wraps an arm around Alecto, hand coming to a rest just under his navel, palm bleeding warmth through the apron and the clothes he is wearing.

[infringe]

He hums happily at the way Joshua touches him there. His own hand comes to join his, fingers linked.

"Oh, she'll be fine." He swats his other hand in the air in a vague gesture. "I'll just bring her and her pups a treat from the market next time I see them. Her daughter is becoming a little too obsessed with blueberries lately." He winks. "I'll use that to my advantage."

He pulls away now, as easy as the tide pulls back from the shore - sure to return eventually - to grab Avery and redirect him from shoving a tiny (but thankfully now, clean) hand straight into the pie cooling on the counter. He picks the squealing boy up into his arm, taps him on the nose with a finger. "Do you mind bringing your son out later? And remember his sealskin..." He pauses, his face briefly unreadable, a pain that he thought had left him long ago, rising to the surface of his heart just for a split second. "...it's in the trunk by the bed."

[singinthestorm]

"Not at all, dearest," he replies, reaching out a hand to ruffle a pouting Avery's hair in passing, smiing a little at the complicated expression that passes over their son's face - a mix of excitement and wriggling enjoyment of the contact from both his parents with annoyance at what he saw as too much gross affection between them. "I'll be happy to bring our son out after we finish eating." He steps in, quietly, extending his arm out to touch the back of Alecto's shoulders, reacting to his face even if he didn't know the exact meaning.

"And you'll behave properly for me, won't you, Avery?" He asks, his tone deceptively mild; there was no earthly possibility of Joshua being able to keep up physically with Avery - or anyone else on that side of the family - in the water no matter how good he was at swimming for a human, so he needed to establish these ground rules for behavior based on other factors, no matter how much it felt like he was trying to bottle lightning or leash the wind. It was simply the way they were.