Guess who's coming to breakfast?

Aleyn was impatient to see his family, but it still seemed like a good idea to get changed into some of his own clothes and out of the robe Vedran had loaned him, nice though it was. He felt suddenly nervous as they approached his apartment, though - what would Vedran think of it, especially compared to his place? Had he left any dirty dishes lying around, or chemicals, and if so, what state would they be in after a month? "I should warn you," he said as they climbed the stairs to the attic quarters, "this might be a horrible mess. And even if by some miracle it's not, it's... probably still a bit of a mess."

"I live with a toddler," Vedran offered reassuringly, "I'm sure I can handle a horrible mess. At least you knew you were going to be away before you left, even if not for quite so long?"

He wasn't really sure what to expect though - he knew his own place was luxurious by the standards of most of Highmark, let alone Undertow, and he knew Aleyn didn't really invest much in his own comfort.

Aleyn opened the door into the apartment warily. It was a single room, and not an overly large one at that. The upper walls slanted with the building's roof, and there was a narrow bed against one wall, an armchair and a single bookshelf. A small dining table obviously served multiple functions as desk and experiment space, judging by the miscellany of papers and alchemical equipment and a few discarded wrappers from month-old street food. Aleyn wrinkled his nose at those and tossed them hastily into the bin hidden behind the door. Fortunately nothing smelled too awful, so he probably hadn't forgotten an apple core under the bed or something.

"So... this is home," he said with a bashful shrug, turning to Vedran. "It's not much, but it's ... uh, well, it's not much."

He imagined the small cluttered space with the encroaching wall would make him feel claustrophobic after not too long, but it was easy to see Aleyn living there. "It's very you, somehow. Not the mess I mean..." Vedran trained off then, eyeing Aleyn's beard. "Well, maybe a little." He smiled. "The bed is awfully small, though."

"Yeah, I haven't really needed a bigger one," he said with a smile back. "I'll say that you *can* fit two people, though, if they're ...close." He gave Vedran a wink and went to the chest of drawers that doubled as both a bedside table and, apparently, a place to pile the books he was reading (or maybe just the ones that didn't fit on the shelf.)

Ducking automatically to avoid bumping his head on the slanted wall, he pulled open the drawer and eyed his clothes. Somehow, thinking about how they must look to Vedran, they all seemed awful now. Apart from the new fancy ones of course, but he could hardly wear those to breakfast with his family, not without being mercilessly mocked. He pulled out some greyish-green trousers that weren't too bad, apart from some stains at the cuffs, and a shirt that at least had all its buttons. "Will you be ashamed to be seen with me in these?" he asked, showing them to Vedran.

"What?" He'd been skimming the titles of the books on the shelf, and the question caught him completely off-guard. Had he given that impression? He did like nice things, and he liked how Alyen looked when he was all dressed up but that wasn't the same was it? "No, Aleyn. Why? I mean... I'm not ashamed to be seen with you, ever."

"Oh, okay. I mean, I didn't really think you would be, but I just want things to go well today, and I know you're used to ... things that are nicer than all of this, so I wanted to do the best I could, to try to make it easier, or... I don't know." He trailed off, thinking about what his mother and Vedran would say to each other, coming to the realization that his nerves didn't really have much to do with his choice of clothes at all.

"Are *you* okay with me coming to breakfast? I don't have to..."

Aleyn was at Vedran's side in two steps, taking his hand. "I do want you to, Vedran, absolutely I do. I'm just... a little nervous about how it'll go. It's my family, after all, and ...I'd like you to like them, and for them to like you, and... I know it'll be fine, probably, because you always do so well at talking to people, and it doesn't matter what I'm wearing, as long as I'm with you."

"I've already met your mother," he said gently, squeezing Aleyn's hands. "We got along fine. I'm sure I'll like the others too." He smiled, though he did wonder , guiltily, just what they might think, and remembered what Mrs. Harrowden has said about his sister.. "Do you think any of them will be there?"

"Ah, well, my sister Lystra and her husband and their kids and my youngest brother Lenyard all live with my mother, so some or all of them could be there, depending. Anyone else, your guess is as good as mine - they stop in whenever they feel like it, especially around mealtimes." He paused, squeezing Vedran's hand back. "Are you worried about them... knowing, about us?" Oh there it was, the root of his anxiety suddenly laid bare: however much Vedran told him he wasn't ashamed of him, he still wanted - needed - to keep their relationship quiet. Aleyn bit his lip. "I wasn't planning a big announcement or anything, but they're bright, they'll probably figure it out anyway - well, maybe not Len, he's a bit clueless sometimes, but everyone else..."

"There you're family, and I want to meet them." That part he was able to be firm about, at least. "Unless you think it is going to be a problem, or get out of hand some how... I'm going to try not to worry to much about what they're going to assume."

Aleyn smiled, relieved, and leaned over to plant a kiss on Vedran's cheek. "It'll be okay, I think. I hope. I'll tell you the same thing I told Kallista when I took her to meet them - they might ask nosy questions, but just give me the sign and I'll jump in to rescue you. Not by stabbing anyone in the neck this time, heh. But I've had a lifetime's practice dealing with them, I can keep things under control."

"Well, I've had a lot of practice turning aside probing questions, but if it gets too bad I'm glad you'll be there."

"We can hope they'll be so excited to see me they'll hardly even notice you're there," Aleyn teased, before turning back to his chosen clothing. There was no other room, not even a convenient screen to hide behind, but after all, Vedran had seen him naked before, so there wasn't really anything to be shy about... Still, he figured he ought to check anyway. "Is it all right if I get changed, then?"

"I was kind of hoping that yes... About your family, and about you getting changed." He smiled, trying to keep things light. "I'm feeling more ...stable, this morning," he added, though talking even obliquely about his problems made him feel more anxious, he was feeling less like they were about to overwhelm him at any moment.

"I'm glad," said Aleyn, sitting down in the armchair to take off his boots. "And I hope you're hungry, because my mother still acts like she's cooking for seven growing kids."

"Well, I'll do what I can to help make a dent in the pile then - is there any etiquette I should know in advance?"

"Nothing particular - there'll be food piled on the table, probably bread and butter and jam and that sort of thing - sometimes Mom makes this amazing sort of porridgey kind of thing with barley and honey and spices and... well, you spent time in Ahkas, maybe you've had it before." Aleyn shrugged out of his borrowed robe, only a little shy. "People will just grab what they want... breakfast is usually pretty relaxed in terms of etiquette."

"That sounds great then - the porridge, and the relaxednessd." He glanced over at Aleyn as he dressed, picking up one of the books off the bed curiously. "And that is definetely a word, I assure you."

Aleyn grinned, feeling more relaxed himself as Vedran seemed to be more or less at ease. He pulled on the trousers, which were looser than he remembered, and reached for the shirt. "You want to just leave the robe here? It might look weird if you're carrying it..."

"Well, I hope I'll be seeing you at some point later, so that will be fine."

"Back here, even with my terribly narrow bed?" Aleyn winked as he buttoned his shirt.

Vedran smirked. "I'm sure we can come to some kind of arrangement, on that front. Now hurry up, I don't want my porridge to get cold."

Aleyn finished getting dressed, looking distinctly more at home now that he was back in his usual clothes. From a hook near the door, he retrieved the hat Vedran liked so much, and held it at arm's length, considering, before putting it on. "What do you think, too much?"