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“Cousin, this is a big day,” Chirp said, looking sternly at Squak. “I know you’ve been looking forward to being able to drink with Peep for a long time now, but … Don’t rush her, all right? It’s better for humans to take it slow, you know?”
Squak sighed dramatically and sat down heavily in one of the chairs in Chirp and Esmé’s bedroom. “I know, cousin, I know. ‘Responsible drinking,’ and all that.” He neglected to mention that Peep had already gotten drunk several times before with her friends (both in high school and now at college), because Lord Squak Ariavis was no snitch.
Chirp smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to come here today.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”
It was a very intimate celebration, with just Chirp, Squak, Esmé and Peep. Squak would not be caught dead throwing a party like this for himself, but he respected that Esmé had other tastes. And Chirp, too, in some ways, who had been heavily influenced by her wife.
They ate dinner inside. Soft music played from some kind of box that Squak had forgotten the name of. He was not very good with technology, and he was frankly not very interested in it either, unless it had something to do with the making of movies based on his novels.
“Oh, this is delicious!” Squak told Esmé, which made her blush with pride.
Later in the night, they all gathered outside on the terrace. Chirp and Esmé cuddled together on a love seat of sorts, Squak sat on a somewhat uncomfortable chair and Peep stayed seated in her wheelchair.
They drank wine and talked until the sun set and even later than that. Squak went inside to fetch a few blankets for everyone, and when he came back, Chirp and Esmé had both fallen asleep. Squak carefully put a blanket over them, then handed two blankets to Peep. She draped one blanket over her legs and another across her shoulder.
Squak sat down again and looked over at his cousin and her wife.
“They’re disgustingly adorable,” he said.
“Yep,” Peep agreed. “It’s horrible.”
Squak laughed and turned to Peep. “So, it’s your big day. You can finally drink alcohol.”
“Yep, definitely never done that before,” Peep joked. Her eyes were wide and even more bird-like than usual. Squak wondered if that happened every time she got drunk.
“That’s my niece!” He picked up one of the wine bottles. “Another glass?”
“Of course.”
They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the quiet. And the alcohol. Mostly the alcohol.
Squak glanced over at Chirp and Esmé again. Chirp had her head resting against Esmé’s chest, and Esmé had an arm around Chirp, holding her close. Squak had never wanted anything like that for himself, but he had to admit it seemed nice.
“Do you have your eyes on anyone at your school?” Squak asked Peep.
She shrugged. “Not really. I mean, I’ve hooked up with some people, but … I’ve never really wanted anything more than that. Nothing like what my moms have. It just doesn’t appeal to me.”
“I swear, you become more and more like me with every day that goes by.”
“What?” Peep asked. Her eyes got even more bird-like, showing off her surprise.
Squak laughed, then found he couldn’t stop laughing.
Peep chuckled too, but then she shushed him. “My moms will wake up!”
That only made Squak laugh harder. But he tried his best to stay quiet, clapping a hand over his mouth to muffle the sounds. Apparently, Peep found this to be absolutely hilarious and soon they were both doubled over laughing.
“What’re you laughing at anyway?” Peep asked in a loud whisper.
“I … don’t know,” Squak giggled. “I just … Everything! You, this, how Chirp thinks you haven’t been drunk before, how we both don’t care about romance, it’s just …!” Squak laughed even harder.
“It’s not that funny,” Peep insisted, even though her face was red from laughing and she hadn’t even known what they were laughing at.
“Perhaps I’m drunker than I thought,” Squak admitted.
“Well, at least you got your wish, didn’t you?”
“What wish?”
“You’ve been wanting to get drunk with me since I was ten!”
“Oh!” Squak laughed. “No, way before then. I’ve been wanting to get drunk with you ever since I learned of your existence. But Chirp insisted that I shouldn’t pressure you until you were ready.”
Peep snorted a laugh. “And you thought I was ready at ten?!”
“It was a weak moment, all right?” Squak defended. “Besides, I only wanted to tell you about it so that you could be prepared. I wasn’t planning on giving you alcohol yet.”
Peep grinned. “It would’ve been fun to grow up with you.”
“Oh, no, you would’ve been fucked up!”
She snorted. “Yeah, probably.”
There was a pause in the conversation.
Then Peep cleared her throat. “Did you mean that? That you don’t care about romance either?”
“Yes.” Squak shrugged. “I don’t know many other fey like me. Most, I think, care about romance in some capacity.” He thought about Rue and Hob, about BINX and Andhera. “But … I don’t know. It’s not for me.”
Peep smiled softly. “It’s not for me either.” She looked down, fiddling with her blanket. “It’s nice. That you’re like me.”
Squak smiled too. “Yes. It is.”
“There’s a word for it, if you’re interested. Aromantic.”
“Huh.”
Squak had never really felt a need to label his experience. Humans were the ones who did all the labeling, all the boxes. It had always felt way too constricting for him. And maybe, in many ways, it was. But he saw the way Peep smiled as she said that word, like it was right, like it was home, like it was her. That was something he never wanted to take away from her.
“And you’re aromantic?” Squak asked.
Peep nodded. “You’re the first person I’m telling this to, actually.”
“You haven’t told your mothers?”
“I will soon. I just need some time. It’s not that long since I figured it out.”
“I get that.”
She looked at him, raising her eyebrows. “Are you aromantic? Maybe?”
Squak sighed. “Maybe, yes. I … I’m not the biggest fan of labels, but … If you had to call me something, aromantic sounds right.”
Peep grinned. “Cool.”
They talked long into the night. About love and romance and family. About drinking and partying. About school and grades and the future. About everything and nothing.
When Peep finally got so tired that she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore, she wheeled inside to go to bed. Squak stayed for a moment. Thinking.
He was proud of Peep, his lovely niece. He loved all the ways she seemed like a copy of himself. But he also loved all the ways she seemed like a copy of Chirp. And of Esmé. Most of all, though, he loved the way she was so clearly and fully her own person. Her own amazing, wonderful, incredible person.
“You’ve raised someone truly special,” Squak whispered to Chirp and Esmé, both still fast asleep. Then he downed the last of his wine and watched the sunrise.