#betcha wasn't expecting some random info on élyse eh

[randomoranges]

it’s a good thing i started this silly little birthday fic 1.5 weeks ago. this turned into a Thing TM. i had to wait on some events to unfold and then, when i queued this up last night, the weather decided to throw a curve ball at me this morning lol. anyways, oblig bday fic bcs im the coolest person around.

Birthday Call May 17th 2023

Étienne finishes the last of his birthday cupcake when his phone starts buzzing. Figuring it must be some other birthday message, he picks it up without really paying attention to the name on the screen, until he realises that it’s a video call from none other than Edward.

Delighted, he sits a little straighter and makes sure there’s no icing on his face before he accepts the call.

“Well, hello there, handsome; this is a surprise.” He greets with a warm smile as his boyfriend appears on the screen. He takes a moment to quietly mourn the loss of the playoff beard and instead takes in Edward’s clean-cut face. The beard had been majestic. It’s a shame it couldn’t have lasted longer. (Edward wears his beard really well, what can he say. He’s aware that he has a thing, but Edward looks good with facial hair. He should consider growing it outside of playoffs, really. It would be to everyone’s advantage. His, for starters. Even if he’s far and can’t get the full tactile benefits of feeling it drag against his skin. At least he would be able to admire it when they have their little video chats.)

Anyways. He’s digressing. It is a surprise, really. He always looks forward to calls from Edward, even if he’d rather have him here with him. Plus, with recent events happening in Alberta, Edward’s been pulled in different directions as of late and Étienne knows, even if Edward’s never said it outright, that it’s all been taking a toll on him. Hell, if anything else, Étienne has seen it on his face when they have such video calls. (He sees it now too, but he pushes the worry away for now.) (He’s seen the manic edge to his gaze and the unhinged spark in his eyes. He knows the look – has been familiar with it in his own reflection for too long.)

“I wasn’t going to forget your birthday, who do you take me for?” Edward gives him a contrite look, daring Étienne to accuse him of such a fault, but Étienne doesn’t fall for the bait, and instead he hums, content, and twirls a strand of his hair around his finger. He knows Edward wasn’t going to forget (Edward’s never forgotten), but he also would have understood if his boyfriend wouldn’t have had the time – or mental energy to call, what with the current situation in Alberta, the end of the playoffs, and the looming election.

Still, he’s pleased as punch that Edward has managed to find the time to call and that he just so happens to be around for it.

“I take you for my wonderful and thoughtful boyfriend who even sent me a parcel for my birthday.” He smiles again and it seems to do the trick.

“Damn right I am.” Edward scoffs, crossing his arms, before his expression softens a little, “I’m glad you got it on time. I was worried it wouldn’t make it – or that it’d be late.”

“It would have just made the festivities last longer, but I got it this morning; it was a very good start to my day.” Étienne had been surprised by the gift, honestly not expecting anything, but once he’d seen who the parcel was from, he’d eagerly torn through the wrapping to find out what Edward could have possibly sent him, leaving the birthday letter for last. (He’d always been ever so fond of the letters Edward sent him. Those in themselves were gift enough.)

“Good, I’m glad.” Edward even seems pleased with himself and as silly as it sounds, it makes Étienne happy. Edward should always feel pleased with himself, regardless of what endeavour he’s taken on. It’s a good look on him anyways. (Étienne might be a little biased. He doesn’t care. He has impeccable taste.)

A little sigh escapes Edward’s lips after a beat and Étienne notices again how tired he looks. The deep, dark circles under his eyes – the worry lines that aren’t usually there. The pinched set of his brow. The way his shoulders sag ever so, as if the weight of every situation currently happening in his province has been put on him and he can no longer handle it. (And maybe it has. After all, Edmonton is the capital, and he knows that it comes with an extra set of responsibilities he’s ever so thankful he’s escaped.) The light in his eyes seems dimmer as well and Étienne worries from afar, wishing he could magic away all of Edward’s problems.

“How are you holding up?” He asks softly, unable to stop himself. He knows Edward can outright lie to him and that he can water down the truth, but Étienne needs to check in. Assess for himself. Étienne may not be going through the same things as him, but he’s been in similar shoes, and he can be sympathetic if nothing else. He knows what it’s like when the emotions of the people overwhelm and take over your own. Knows what it’s like to feel the euphoria of victory one moment and deep anger and emptiness at a loss the next. It unites and it divides.

He’s lived through his fair share of political unrest, from bitter resentment to the want for change. He’s been there. Tumbled through the whirlwind only to be spat out on the other side, never sure the waters have ever calmed down, trying to regain unsteady footing and stumbling along the way. Therefore, he has a small inkling as to what Edward might be feeling, to some degree, even if the situations aren’t all the same. (At least, if anything, he knows for a fact that Edward is not alone – that Calvin is keeping an eye on him as well and that, if push comes to shove, he can reach out to Calvin if he’s really that worried. That too, he supposes, must be some odd advantage.) (And yes, he knows Calvin is also going through his own ordeal.)

Edward shrugs and passes a hand through his hair and then scrubs it over his clean-shaven face. “You know, same shit, different day. But enough of this depressing talk. I called because it’s your birthday. Distract me, please.”

Étienne chuckles – that he can do. He’s been distracting Edward from his problems for over forty years now and he’s not about to stop anytime soon. In fact, he’s quite good at it, if he dares say so himself.

“Well, if it’s a distraction you want, I’ll have you know that I can be very distracting,” He leans on his palm, propped up by his arm, and puts on his best flirtatious air, before he winks at Edward and then waggles his eyebrows in an exaggerated way. A laugh bubbles out of Edward’s chest and escapes through his mouth, and Étienne grins, pleased that he’s managed to make him laugh for a moment.

“How has your birthday been so far?” His boyfriend prompts, once he recovers from his fit of laughter.

“Not too bad, I must say. A bit on the cold side. Can you believe, it actually snowed?! It didn’t last, but it snowed on my birthday. The travesty of it all.” It had snowed for about five and a half minutes, if that much, but he had been insulted, nonetheless.

Edward laughs at his antics and Étienne is glad that his melodramatics make Edward laugh. It had been his goal, after all.

“Poor baby,” Edward coos, “Too bad I’m not there to keep you warm.” Edward teases, much to Étienne’s delight.

“Such a shame, really. The only thing missing from this birthday so far was waking up next to you, but who knows, maybe some other year.” Étienne knows the universe would need to align in many different ways for it to happen, but he wants to be confident that it could happen in some foreseeable future.

“Anyways, El and I went out for brunch this morning, had birthday cupcakes, got a really nice gift from my boyfriend and Emma’s on her way as we speak. The three of us are going out to dinner and Emma’s staying for the long weekend, so that’ll be cool. Friday, me, Emma and El and some of our friends are going out to some club my sister’s been going on about and that’s about it.” He lists the plans off his finger for a moment to make sure he hasn’t missed anything and then nods to himself. “Yup that’s it.”

“Hang on,” Edward interjects, “Your sister?” He repeats to make sure he’s understood correctly, “Your sister likes clubs? How am I finding out about this now? When the hell did this happen?”

Étienne laughs, “You think I’m the wild child? You’ve clearly never seen my sister hit the clubs then. She has moves like no other and can really let loose.” He watches, amused, as Edward blinks slowly, trying to process the information.

“I’m not sure what to do with this news and I cannot unsee this now. You’re pulling my leg.”

It’s a gift Élyse has, he supposes. Everyone expects it from him. After all, Élyse takes her city job seriously. Élyse is level-headed. Élyse is the good twin. But what people tend to forget is that Élyse also likes the thrum of a thick crowd and the pulse of a beating city. She needs their high as much as he does and lives for a good time. “What can I say; we both love to get lost in a crowd and be surrounded by people. Next time you’re in town, we’ll go out with her.” He laughs at the utter confusion written on Edward’s face and thinks about getting a screenshot of it.

“I’ve been visiting you for over forty years and I never would have assumed that about your sister; wow.” Edward looks as if he’s re-evaluating everything he knows about Élyse. Étienne makes himself a mental note to relay the information to his sister later on. He knows for a fact that she’ll get a kick out of it and that she’ll never let Edward live it down. Ever.

However, he gets it, really. Élyse will give him center floor in a group, but if left to her own devices, she can schmooze as well as he can. Together, they are an unbeatable force, and they can work a crowd to their advantage in a heartbeat. It’s just a shame that no one’s ever really given his sister the chance to do so and that he’s stepped out permanently from his city job.

“In your defence, you only saw her at my place; but I’m pretty sure she can drink us both under the table, keep her head about it, and outlast us on a dance floor. There may have also been the lack of overlap with the types of clubs we were visiting back then. Not sure El would have appreciated crowds of gyrating men.” He grins to himself, making far away plans for a next time when Edward will be in town and inviting his sister to go out with them. He’s not sure either of them would accept, but he can still dream. If anything, he no longer has to keep Edward’s big secret and there are actual places where the three of them could have a good time, now that he and Edward are doing loads better.

“I will never be able to look at your sister the same way ever again.” There may be a hint of awe and fear in Edward’s voice and Étienne chuckles, amused, knowing that Élyse would approve of the second part.

They chat for a while longer, until Étienne receives a message from Emma telling him that she’s nearly there. They exchange goodbyes, Edward wishing him a happy birthday one more time.

“Y’know, when everything settles, if you need to get away from it all for a bit, my door’s always open…” He starts and he kind of hates how hesitant he almost sounds, as if afraid Edward would scoff at the idea, as he worries his bottom lip. “I’m aware you’ll have your work cut out for you and you’ll be busy, but – whenever you want to, you know where to find me.” He adds, quick to recover. “And, obviously, I’m only a phone call away, if you need to vent or just need a distraction. Even if it’s ass o’clock in the night. There’s gotta be some advantage to my insomnia.” He gives Edward a tentative smile and is relieved when his boyfriend returns it.

A myriad of different platitudes run through his head from “don’t worry, you’ll get through this” and “You’ve been through worse – this won’t be what does you in” and even “Please be safe. I hope you and yours stay safe” as he tries to think of some encouraging thing to say, but they all sound flat and lame to his ears. This has never really been their thing. They don’t really offer each other these empty sounding words of comfort, even if in their essence, they all mean the same thing; I’m worried. I want you safe. I need you safe. (I need to know that you’ll be okay. That you’re okay. The idea of something bad happening to you sets my own teeth on fire. I can’t sleep at night because I worry. I pray to a God I no longer really look up to for your safety. Please, please, please be okay.)

“I know and I appreciate it, really. Who knows, I might just take you up on your offer.” Edward tells him with a reassuring smile. In a perfect world, he’d snap his fingers and all of Edward’s problems would vanish. They would be able to start planning Edward’s visit right away, but the confirmation that Edward would like to visit him soon, weather permitting, is enough for now.

“Looking forward to it, whenever that may be.” This is the point where he should hang up, but he doesn’t really want to. Not yet anyways. He wants to say something else, and there are a thousand different thoughts running through his mind, but none of them feels substantial enough to convey everything he still fails to say.

“I love you,” He settles for instead, because he does and because he’s allowed to tell Edward how he feels about him and, he really wants Edward to know and hear it. Especially now. It might not fix anything at all, but it might make him smile and feel a positive emotion for the briefest of moments. Plus, it feels like the only thing he can say to end the conversation, and maybe, just maybe, Edward will understand everything else that it means.

He’ll never know for sure if Edward gets all of it, but his boyfriend smiles softly at him and maybe, in his own way, Edward tries to reassure him as well. “Me too,” He says and then adds, “I’ll talk to you soon, yeah? Now, off with you; you have to get ready for your birthday celebrations so that you can tell me all about your wild and crazy adventures. Make me live vicariously through you.”

Étienne nods and chuckles, promising him that he will and with one final goodbye and one last happy birthday, he ends the call.

 FIN