Kids Grow Too Fast (Ros-Kee / Tar-Vin) - 8

[Shava]

Once the water was running fine and the tank filled, Taranis turned the knob for a manual release and watched with extreme satisfaction as it did as it was supposed to and water went down the pipes under pressure. As the sound reached the level he recognized, he stepped quickly back across the room releasing the knob in time t miss the fine spray the plants began receiving for about two minutes before it dropped of. A satisfied smile and he was back to the front room to put tools away he had gotten out and he was done. About time too as it was getting dark now.

Going back to the old farmhouse Taranis knocked on the door, then entered saying "Mom?" "Coming dear, just closing stuff up, lock the front for me would you please?" Grinning, Taranis entered and bolted the door then put the bar across the door before beginning to snuff lights in the kitchen. A minute later she was out and they were nearly done. "You or me?" "I'll do it, dear, makes me feel useful." With a smile and a nod, Taranis submitted to his mother's hand on his shoulder as she snuffed out the last light and appirated them to the bridge. As they walked towards the house he said "Mom, hold up a moment."

When she flashed him a look, she knew it and stopped, surprised. "Already?" Taran admitted "Just asked me about an hour ago. Said they had already been talking about it. We're not going to tell the kids yet and I want to tell Rosalie first, can you pass on the word to the girls?" His mother frowned a second before she answered, giving him a nod. "Certainly. You're sure?" Taran nodded, "Pretty sure. You know how I am with clouds. I'm sure he will wait till they are at his place, said he wanted to see how she could deal with his family first." Looking more relieved, she walked with him again and they headed up, Taranis out of habit giving his mother an arm.

As always, she preferred him to the handrail.

At the top they split up and Taranis headed to the kitchen, seeing his wife working at the sink on cleaning something up. The kitchen was nicely warm, even with the window open and he knew supper was pretty much done. Stepping behind her he slid his hands around her and into her front pockets with familiar ease. At the same time also by long habit she leaned back into him as he did so, turning her head to kiss his cheek. "Well love, Boann just won ten galleons it seems." He didn't sound disappointed so much as wistful, half remembering their own engagement and half wishing he had been wrong. It was very hard to let go of one whose fingers you could remember clutching at your ears with little pink digits.

[Shava]

Rosalie had seen Vincent heading out through the window over the sink. Since Taranis was currently the only one of them outside, she had a strong suspicion about what was going on. While she was absolute bollocks at divination, there was something to be said for feminine intuition. Dinner was, for the most part, only a matter of waiting for a few things to come out of the oven. Even as a pureblood witch, Rosalie still preferred cooking the muggle way, it added something undefinable to the meal. She had shooed everyone out of the kitchen, insisting she could handle the clean up by herself. She needed time to think anyway. Still, Keela had lagged behind, waiting until the others were gone before she spoke up. "Mum?" The voice was soft, hesitant. She recognized her eldest's anxious tone, and turned to smile at her affectionately. "Yes love, what's on your mind?"

Rosalie had a feeling she knew exactly what was going on in her daughter's head. She and Taranis had talked about it at length that morning. She'd gone down to talk to him about his impression of Vincent, and then he'd told her the news, not only were Vincent's intentions honorable, he planned on making good on them sooner rather than later. Keela seemed to be contemplating, and Rose didn't push her, pretending to focus on the task at hand while her daughter gathered her thoughts. "What...what do you think of him?" There was no question as to which 'him' she meant, and Rosalie smiled a knowing smile to herself before she turned her full attention to Keela. "He seems like a nice boy. It was clever of him to think of that camera. You'll need it with the internship coming up." The younger Summerby nodded absently in response. "It was, wasn't it?"

Rosalie waited a beat, "was there something else you wanted to talk about, sweetheart?" It was clear Keela had been lost in her own thoughts, and Rose tried to hide the amusement that sparkled in her eyes. "No mum, at least, not yet. I'll let you know all right?" Rose had nodded, looking vaguely concerned. There was obviously something weighing on her mind, but Rose knew better than to push. She would talk when she was ready, she always had. The sound of footsteps entering the house caught both women's attention, and for a moment, she thought Taranis might have finished more quickly than expected. But no, a moment later she heard Vincent's voice, calling out to Keela, who smiled warmly before coming across to kiss Rosalie on the cheek. "I love you, mum", she said softly, sounding ages younger than she had in a long time. Rose understood that her daughter was reaffirming the thought, most likely getting ready to start a new phase of her life in which her parents' roles would be very different.

She brushed the hair back out of Keela's face, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and nodded. *"Ti amo troppo" she answered after a moment, "molto." They shared a look and then off she went in the direction of his voice. Rosalie sighed wistfully and returned to washing dishes. Normally, she'd have used magic for something this basic, but she had been looking for an excuse to be alone with her thoughts all day. The next set of footsteps to enter the house came straight to the kitchen, and Rosalie knew without turning around that her husband had finally found his way back to the house. His arms around her were comforting, just as they always were, and she sighed softly, leaning into him.

She turned in his arms so that she could wrap her arms around his neck ignoring the splatters of sauces and spices she was also likely sharing. "I know, I saw." Rosalie closed her eyes, remembering Keela's first few years, how determined she'd been to try everything. "I had a feeling after this morning that it was only a matter of time", she admitted. "He'll take care of our girl, won't he love?" She needed reassuring. While she had confidence in Keela's judgment, she couldn't quite believe her headstrong, fiercely independent little girl was going to be married so soon. "Have they got any plans yet?" She wondered if that had been what Keela had wanted to ask. She laid her head on his shoulder, breathing in deeply, taking in the familiar way he always smelled coming in from his work. When they'd first married, she'd teased him about it, but as time passed it became something of a comfort. He was as steady and dependable as the seasons, the perfect match for all the stubbornness and reckless tendencies she'd boasted in earlier years. "What did your mum say?"

Where she and Taranis complemented each other, both Keela and Vincent radiated a hunger for life that seemed unquenchable. She knew from Keela's letters that they had similar ambitions, but if both of them were running headlong into life, who was going to be the voice of reason? She shook her head, knowing she must have been thinking the same thoughts her own mother had when she'd announced her engagement almost twenty years ago. Had it really been that long? Looking into her husband's eyes, she still saw the handsome, hardworking best friend who had rescued her from a life of drudgery as a deatheater trophy wife. There were lines just beginning to show around his eyes, lasting traces of the smiles he freely offered each day. She leaned up to kiss the corner of his mouth. There weren't any words for this moment, and thankfully none were needed.

Twenty years and four children later, he was still her best friend, still her hero, and without question still the best looking man she'd ever seen.

* Ti amo troppo...molto - I love you too...very much

[Shava]

As always, Rosalie and Taranis didn't really need to speak their thoughts out loud, but it seemed more comforting to one some occasions. Right now with the eldest child about to make her leap from the nest, it seemed a time to hear each other's voices. "We both knew it was coming, it still surprised me." She expressed her fears and he held her, his hands now at her back, keeping her close in a tight hug. "Yes. I have a feeling she is as important to him as she is to us just in a different way."

"From what he said, they had discussed next Christmas. It would be easy to get everyone together. And yes, they know about the six months apart still afterwards." he chuckled softly as she laid her head on his shoulders. "Listening to him talk about plans well..." he kissed her hair, feeling her breath against him, her nerves palpable to him like rain in the air "forgive me, but they sounded like us for a bit..."

Were they that prepared? Did they know the huge differences about to hit them? How could he not worry and try to offer them more then they needed? "She wanted to hear me say how confident I was and I said it was going to happen. I don't need a sunny day to see the inevitable coming up." as she looked up at him with a soft look in her face, Taranis remembered the day he gave her the key and the wonder in her eyes as she realized what he was giving her, in words as much as treasure. She still looked young to him, his children way too young for marriage, but he could count like anyone else; the world was a different place and age.

Never had he though he would ever be so old.

Kissing her in the center of his young wife's forehead, Taranis didn't see any age in her at all. He saw teary cuddles, fierce protectiveness, and stubborn eyes. He heard her soft moans, her delighted wonder, and the protective mother tones. She was the most perfect woman he had ever know who had held the second to his eyes saying (he would never ever forget) "Look at her tiny fingers, Taran!" in a voice of wonder that anything that felt like a cannonball could ever be adorable. And he hugged her tight and said nothing for a long long moment before the voices interrupted. "Mama! Auntie sneaking Luch rolls!" in offended tattling tones down at waist high level.

[Shava]

Rosalie sighed, part wistfulness and part resignation. "I know, love. I know." She lifted her eyes to his, "she always said she'd wait a while though, I thought maybe we'd have a little more time." But that had been before she'd really had any experience with love, and Rose knew first-hand what a difference that experience made. Rosalie smiled softly, "I get that feeling too. They really do seem to get on awfully well together don't they?" She wasn't sure if she was looking for assurance or assuring herself. It hadn't been in her nature to worry this way until she'd had children. They had a way of bringing out her Gryffindor loyalty in entirely new aspects. "At least we have a bit of time left with the younger ones", she said thoughtfully. Her eyes took on a slightly mischievous, playful glint. "Ever think we should try again?" It was something they'd discussed infrequently over the last couple of years. The plan had been four, and they'd done it, but now with Keela moving full speed ahead to a new chapter, Rosalie was feeling the empty space even before her eldest actually fled the nest.

"So soon?" Rosalie had thought they'd at least wait until both were out of school. Despite her misgivings, she had to admit the logic made sense. She knew Vincent's father was a professor at Hogwarts, and his mother traveled often. Between their busy schedules and the work she and Taran had maintaining the farm almost year-round, Christmas seemed the best time for most everyone involved. Still, the suddeness left her feeling a bit off-balance. Maybe that was why Keela had seemed out of sorts. Mother and daughter had always reacted similarly. It was possible the sheer magnitude of what lay ahead was a bit overwhelming. She smiled at the reminder of their own youthful exuberance. "Did they?" The thought brought with it a wave of both comfort and nostalgia. She and Taran had done their share of traveling in the year before Keela was born, both had wanted to see the world, act their age for a bit before settling down. In that way, maybe the four of them had more in common than Rosalie would have thought. "Though as I recall it, our plans didn't include seeing the world from the seat of a muggle motorcycle." It was something Keela had mentioned in one of her letters, Vin's fascination with muggle machinery. It seemed an interesting hobby, but the idea of Keela's riding one made Rosalie uneasy. She tried not to analyze the hypocrisy of this feeling, since she had no issues with brooms which were arguably just as dangerous.

She nodded, returning to the present from her internal reverie. "I'm surprised he hasn't made it official yet if they're planning something that soon." Her daughter, like her, wasn't the flashy type, but even a simple wedding would take a while with so many family members involved. The soft expression on his face as he gazed at her eased the worry lines in her own expression. She raised up in a gesture as familiar as her own name and brushed her lips over his tenderly. "What are you thinking, my love?" Less than a minute later, the moment was broken by Briana's little-girl voice. Taking her apron off over her head, Rosalie hung it up to be washed later, and turned her attention to her youngest. "That's because Auntie helped make the lunch rolls silly one." She brushed a hand across her daughter's forehead, pushing the hair out of her eyes. "I gave up trying to keep her from sneaking snacks long ago." She shared a teasing look with Boann, who had indeed snatched one from the plate on the other side of the kitchen, probably while she and Taran were distracted. Long-used to living with Slyterhins, Rosalie only laughed. "Its about time for lunch anyway, why don't you go help your uncles round everyone up?" With a nod and an easy grin, Briana dashed off, and Rosalie smiled at her retreating back.

Turning her attention back to her husband, she smiled at him in a way that they both knew meant she was about to ask for something. "Will you see if you can find one of the children to set the table while I finish up here?" She bent to take the loaf of bread from the oven and sat it on the stovetop to cool. "Everything's just about ready."

[Shava]

Hearing your wife ask you if another might be in the works worked on most men the same way; growing excitement and raised eyebrows of 'you-sure?' "You know, Rose," sliding his hands up his wife's back, "empty nest syndrome usually starts after the kids are physically gone from the house, not before." As any good husband (or at least intelligent one) knew, playing the other side at least for a moment, enabled you to have something to fall back on later as an excuse.

Of course he wanted more of his wife's children! She had given him what he thought they needed, but he had no problems increasing the list of descendants as he had been down to the single digits; he would never refuse more of them. leaning forward to her ear he whispered "You know, people really like to see babies at weddings, it's a good omen for the future..." with a smile. s to traveling, Taranis knew the answer for that one. "Overheard Vincent explaining to Armind about all the magic safeties he's been building into the bike. It's safer sounding then most brooms really. I trust that he doesn't want to lose someone as important to him as she is."

He nodded at her comment. "I think he has something in mind at his house, but he is right. If she can handle his family it makes sense to wait till after she meets them." Their daughter's complaint was more about that she wasn't being sneaked extras as well, or more likely had but wasn't admitting that. Taranis laughed softly anyway "Especially when Luch is wanting them. That boy takes after her way too much..." Luch and Aunt Boann were the naughty team in the family and when you saw them in a corner talking in whispers you knew something was about to happen.

Taranis secretly adored those moments.

"Sure thing, we'll pick this discussion back up again tonight after everyone's off to bed." Patting her rear and dodging when she sought his own, Taran slipped back out of the kitchen and caught Cern and Lili just coming through the doorway. With people seeing activity around the table, the word spread and by the time it was set, everyone was gathered. Supper was, as always, a noisy affair with lots of laughter, and good stories about the day. Even though only the adults knew what was about to happen, the children picked up on the excitement of impending news and were extra energetic, which gave everyone an excuse for distraction.

It was a memorable supper, and not just for the food.