SS: We Are Family

[Chelliephone]

Overview

The Thanatos family was always a family of 4 - the patriarch, Renner Thanatos, the twins, Vera and Vasco, and the youngest little cherub, Vesper. But as the kids all began to grow up and leave the nest to go to boarding school to start their magical educations, they also couldn't help but worry about leaving their Papa home all alone by himself.

Which was why in the summer of 2111, the two girls hatched a plan to try to set their Papa up with someone else. They hadn't expected that unsuspecting individual to be Quidditch star, Raju Misra, nor did they expect exactly how well their half thought out plan would truly go.

Now in the summer of 2112, the two men have been together for nearing a year and things have been progressing well. But how well will the kids and Raju mesh together? And will things continue to go well?

Characters

Renner Thanatos - Kolyander
Raju Misra - FearlessLeader19
Vasco Thanatos - Kolyander
Vera Thanatos - Chelliephone
Vesper Thanatos - Kolyander
Viano Valentino - FearlessLeader19

**Other characters may be added by invitation and will be listed above, if so.

Scenes

Scene 1: An Italian summer - 2112
In which the couple takes the three Thanatos kids on a family vacation.

This is a CLOSED RP exploring new dynamic of the Misra-Thanatos clan.

[Kolyander]

It should go without say bying that vacation planning always came with much detail planning. So much so that nothing at all had gone overlooked by Renner. Everything had been completely taken care of even down to the girls snakes being well looked after while they were gone (thank you Paton's! Lol).

Now being the man that he was, Ren did what any father would do, he only told he children where they would be going and how long they would be gone. No other details about their vacation had been given away, he wanted every single thing to be a surprise for all of them. Right down to the absolutely gorgeous vintage cottage in Italy that Raju and himself choose. He was sure there wouldn't be any complaints when they all saw the pool and the kitchen. There was nothing at all wrong with splurging sometimes.

Thank Merlin for magical luggage though! The way some of them had backed, it had looked like they were moving out and never returning! A few simple charms had fixed all of that though and everything was feather light and compact for easy travel. Which didn't take all that long, they were welcome. He had been tempted for a bit to travel there by airplane but decided a portkey would save so much time and energy.

As several pairs of feet hit the ground in the yard of the cottage where they were staying, Ren couldn't help but immediately look around to ensure everyone was safe. "Everyone okay? No ones sick?" It would be a shame to start the vacation off with someone getting ill right away.

[FearlessLeader19]

Raju was beyond happy to be going on this vacation with his little readymade family. Though he hadn’t admitted it to anyone, not even Renner, there was a small part of him which was nervous about having all this time with the Thanatos children. He tried to remind himself that there wasn’t that much of a difference when it came to him being around them when they were home from Hogwarts. They were all going to be together, just in a foreign country this time around. The Quidditch coach just wanted to ensure nothing went wrong which would end up in the kids hating him.

More than willing, he had helped Renner plan things, though the other man had done most of it. That chocolatier always insisted on taking charge and taking care of everything so Raju let him. It helped that he liked watching Ren do things for his family. Needless to say it was all well planned and organised.

His feet hit the ground, the warm sea breeze - there would be no need for a scarf or woollen gloves in the near future - greeting him instantly. There would be plenty of time to examine their surroundings {because it had been a while since he had visited Italy} after he endured the kids were okay. “I’m fine,’’ Raju replied, flashing Ren a bright smile before looking around at the remaining three Thanatos’.

[Chelliephone]

Was she excited about a summer holiday? Absolutely. Did she also have reservations about said summer holiday? ... Also absolutely. But they were all purely selfish ones, so she was shoving those down deep into the pit of her consciousness and instead trying to focus on the aforementioned excitement. Which was made far easier as the port safely delivered them into the most wonderful weather. It was summer, so thankfully their home in London hadn't been as dreary and cold, but it was still nothing on the golden sunlight and warm breeze now wafting over her. She didn't even need to continue to cling to her brother, which she had done for the duration of the trip just to make sure she didn't let go of the port. Ports always seemed to make her queasy and she had a bit of an irrationality that she'd just end up.... Letting go of one one day and getting lost in some type of mid port purgatory.

Vasco was the safety net that made sure that wouldn't happen.

Letting go of her twin, hazel eyes surveyed the area as her mouth dropped into a little O. Papa, and Raju, had outdone themselves. The pool was already beckoning to her and the cottage was so adorable and quaint looking! She was ready to go explore already, but she hung back in case it appeared rude, and instead turn her attention to the patriarch at his question. "All good here!" Shockingly, but she was attributing that to the sea breeze. "This place looks awesome!" She added, eyes scanning the area once more.

She could almost forget about the disappointment that she had not been permitted to bring Sass with her. Though, she was quite certain Bryony at the very least would be diligent in ensuring her and Scoot's snakes had plenty of affection. Which speaking of... "Hey, can we rent one of Scoot's namesakes while we're here?" She and Vas were almost of age and trying driving would be terrifying super fun!

[Kolyander]

The summer break couldn't have come fast enough. A few good weeks of downtime to recuperate from all the studying that had been done for OWLs, was very much needed. What was also very much needed was for the twin to NOT vomit on him please and thanks. Yup, he knew ALLLLLLLL about how she sometimes got an upset stomach from portkey travel and yet, he somehow always ended up being her safeline. No, he wasn't complaining, in fact he rather likes that she still needed him for things such as this but he didn't fancy anyone getting sick all over him as a fun way to jumpstart his vacation.

Thankfully all good things must have been on his side as their feet touched ground and his gaze instantly landed on his sisters. His hold on her remained until she let go of him and even so he still have her a look as if he had to make sure she was alright anyhow. Only then did he check on the littler Thanatos sister who appeared to be just fine and in the best of spirits already. "I'm good." Nothing to worry about here.

It was then that his eyes finally took in his surroundings as much as they could. Which wasn't much really as Vera had gotten his attention already. "Can we? Or at least me? You know I won't crash." Vas grinned over at Vera teasingly. Seriously though, could they?!

The youngest and smallest Thanatos child was by far probably the most excited about this trip. It was impossible for her not to be with how great the summer was already going and it was slowly nearing her birthday! She would finally be thirteen! So what more could she ask for then to be with her family and papa's partner on vacation somewhere nice and warm.

Vesper has been holding onto her papa's hand like normal as the portkey deposited them all right down in the front yard of the most gorgeous cabin she had ever seen. "All good here!" she piped up quickly, looking all around at everything as quickly as she could. "Can we go swimming? Do we get our own rooms? I want to ride one too!" She had all the questions to ask but that didn't stop her from hearing her siblings talking. They all knew it wouldn't be fair if she didn't get to go too, right?!

They all had nothing to worry about, Ren was going to do everything in his power to ensure they all had nothing less than an amazing time. This trip had been planned for them all to grow closer and have a great time. Everything was going to workout perfectly and the kids were going to get to know Raju as well as he did.

At the confirmation that everyone was indeed alright, Ren let go of his youngest. No need to remain holding onto her if she was alright. His dark eyes did however remain on his other daughter for a few extra moments to ensure she wouldn't get sick. Merlin must have been on their side today as all was well! ”Wonderful! Why don't we all head inside and have a look around, get settled and then we can do some swimming if everyone wants to?” With the help of a little magic they would all be unpacked and settled in quickly.

Not even ten minutes. He should've known this question was going to come up but couldn't they wait a little longer? ”Hm, I don't know.. neither of you even have your license yet..” he answered with a semi cheeky tone. The last thing he needed was one of them getting injured.

[FearlessLeader19]

The kids were unharmed in any way, and since the adults were as well, this meant that they were off to an unexceptional start to their Italian holiday. Raju was grinning right off the bat because Vera’s reaction to taking in the cottage and everything else was rather rewarding. He loved that he and Ren could surprise and provide the kids with someplace nice to recharge. And why was he not at all surprised about Vera’s question and Vasco’s immediate enthusiasm for it. Raju already knew the answer but Renner would be the one to let the kids down.

“We can do whatever… almost whatever you like,’’ Raju replied to Vesper. He had amended his statement because wasn’t there a chance that ‘whatever the kids wanted’ could be interpreted as them getting into shenanigans they weren’t prepared for? “You and Vera get to share a room and Vasco gets his own.” He doubted the arrangement would be rejected.

With that, Raju led the way into the cottage. “Exploration time!” The kids could probably get to that while the adults got to unpacking since they were the only two legally allowed to do magic.

[Chelliephone]

Listen, her clinginess did tend to be because her brother was a constant sense of security. But also, if she had to vomit on someone's sneakers her brother was a far more entertaining recipient of that than... well, pretty much anyone else. He was safe for the time being however - her stomach was already completely at ease. Which she smiled at the three males in attendance to assure them all of that - feeling Vasco and Papa keeping eyes on her to make sure, she assumed her father had informed Raju as well of the potential calamity so she included him in that as well.

Vesper had then also recovered and was a torrent of questions, which Vera anxiously listened to as well and waited for answers. While she didn't necessarily need her own room, she might have had hopes of mirroring a few people and having some privacy for conversations. Or if not privacy, at the very least not disturbing one of her siblings. But luck was not on her side on that bit as Raju outlined the arrangements. There wasn't any time to be disappointed at the disappearance of previous plans, considering... logically she was probably going to crash in one of her siblings rooms anyways or vice versa. Instead of being a pain, she just kept the smile on her face and slung an arm over Scoot's shoulder. "Sounds good to us! Yeah, let's go in!" She agreed, grabbing her bag (which thank goodness one of the men had done a featherlight charm for her earlier) and swung that over the arm not currently wrapped around the littlest Thanatos. "Instead of swimming straight in the pool though, do you think after we settle we can go down to the beach?" The pool was so close to the house they could swim in that later in the evening, after they'd all worn themselves out.

There was the briefest moment in which Vera was thankful for her brother, until the ultimate BETRAYAL of him excluding her and putting himself as the responsible party, teasing or not, true or not. She glowered at him for a moment, before deciding openly arguing was not going to help their case, so instead she focused on her father. "Actually! You don't need a license to drive a scooter." ... you did have to be at least 18 years of age, but she was going to leave that bit out since they weren't there yet. She grinned over at Raju and his answer too, nearly hearing the slip up of saying they could do whatever they wanted.

Obviously the Quidditch star had learned the kids personalities well enough to know how the elders would have attached to that statement as approval.

Hoisting her bag higher again, she followed along after him into the house. "How many rooms does this place have? Is there a wine cellar? Do we get to drink wine while we're here too? Vas and I are almost of age, you know." Clearly she was planning on trying to get the most out of this trip.

[Kolyander]

The youngest of the clan may have been bouncing around on her toes in an odd looking circle of excitement as her questions were being answered but that didn't mean she hadn't heard all of the answers. That near slip-up didn't matter to her as she knew she wouldn't be allowed to do everything she wanted as she was hardly a teenager. Very very soon though! Her thirteenth birthday was right around the corner!

As for sharing a room, that didn't bother her in the slightest. In fact, she beamed brightly up at Vera and nodded her head firmly. "Okay!" Her own arm worked its way around her big sisters waist for an affectionate squeeze. There would be no complaints from her on this arrangement. Chances were she would make them all have a slumber party in one of their rooms anyhow so that they could all be together. She knew how much they both loved that!

"Ooooh, the beach! Can we do that instead?!" Right away Vesper was on Vera's side with things. The beach definitely did sound like a lot more fun than the pool that was literally right there in their backyard. Ahem, what was this about not needing a license for this?! There was her curiosity peeked! "Does that mean I get to ride one too?!" Cause clearly they couldn't leave her out of all the fun!

There she went following the adults inside! Bright eyes trying to take everything in all at once.


Honestly, he got it. Not only did he understand but he sometimes even looked forward to her clinginess. As odd as it might sound, it was a sense of comfort for not only her but for him as well. Sometimes a guy just needed his twin sister. Ahem, no one heard him say that. Not that it was a big secret or anything. Anyhow, onto more important topics.

Like, bedrooms. It came as no surprise to him that he would have his own. "I have no problems with that but something is telling me I'll be seeing the two of you tonight anyhow?" Vasco cast a glance at his sister, a grin creeping up onto his face knowingly. There was no way they wouldn't all somehow all end up together, it always happened. It was always the three of them.. usually. Um, most of the time? Which came without saying that the topic of the beach had him nodding his head right away. "I'm game. Maybe we can go surfing?" Or something else equally as fun!

Oh, come on Vera! Did she seriously not know that he was only messing with her?! "Ve!" he laughed, slinging an arm around her shoulders and giving her a gentle nudge in the process (also placing her in the middle since she had Vesper on her other side). "Come on now, you know I'm messing with you. I'd never ride one with you..
he reached to squeeze Vesper's shoulder as he added onto that, "Either of you." How could he? Not when it was something they had been wanting to do for ages!

Letting his arm drop from around Vera, Vasco let everyone else go inside first. Adjusting his bag over his shoulder he let his eyes swing around the large open space a few times taking it all in slowly. "This is wicked, I like the open layout." That was perfect for someone like him who didn't like feeling cramped or all the noise.


What was this?! No push back at all from any of them on the sleeping arrangements? Well this was something a little unexpected but very welcomed and the thankful smile on his face showed as much. "I'm glad everyone's in agreement on that otherwise you can all hash it out on who gets the bedrooms and who gets the couch." Oh, yes, he said that! Would they be leaving things as is or?

Now, now. He had heard that very near slip-up, Raj. And he wasn't about to go looking like the bad guy on the very first day of their vacation. "How about we look into it tomorrow and see what we can do, hm?" There was sure to be age appropriate ones for them all that everyone could agree on. Ren smiled at the boyfriend because clearly the man knew his kids well from all the things he had been told and could agree with him on this, yes?

They wanted to go to the beach? Sure, that was something he could agree to. "I don't see why that would be an issue once we're unpacked and changed." It wouldn't take them very long at all. "What do you think, Raju.. head on down to the beach and see what type of activities they have?" Ren may have given him a knowing look around as this was something they had looked into well into advance and they had perhaps already booked a few different things for them all to try out.

Merry laughter rang out as they all made their way into the cottage. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and the rest is all an open floor plan with a kitchen, dinning room and living room. Yes, there's a wine but it is locked and only Raju and I know how to get into it." He had made sure of that in advance! Sorry not sorry. "Oh, are you now? Are you sure?" Their papa grinned at his two eldest. "We'll see." He was watching everything he said too! These kids were bound to twist every word to get their way and he knew it.

"Go on and have a look around, get ready for the beach. We'll do some unpacking while you do." With an arm slung around his mans shoulders, Ren led the way towards the back room so they could begin the unpacking with their own things.

[FearlessLeader19]

By all means, Vera! You were more than welcome to cling to Vasco for as long as you needed; Vasco clearly did not care. Raju may strongly like the oldest Thanatos girl but he by no means was ready to be barfed upon. The assumption that he had been let in on the tidbit of her potentially being sick had been passed to Raju. He was also grateful that the girls had no objection to the sleeping arrangements. Yes, they were both getting older but this was a cottage, and cottages weren’t usually that big. Raju did intend to ensure that the three almost-adult-kids each have their own rooms on future excursions though! Renner’s solution to any issue with the current sleeping arrangements, however! He so wanted to burst out into a fit of laughter but it was with great difficulty that he kept a straight face.

Raju held the door open for the rest to troop through. It was then that he heard the next question from Vera. Honestly, the poor guy hadn’t realised just how much kids of all ages asked so many dang questions until he started dating Renner. He was still adjusting and doing his best to answer as honestly as possible while leaving no room for loopholes. Mercifully, he had learnt quite quickly that these kids were super smart and could easily wiggle their way out of situations where they were forbidden from something. “I don’t see why not. Excellent idea, Vera!’’ Raju shot a glance at Renner; after all, he was the kids’ father. Raju did not ever want to overstep.

“Yes, Vesper,’’ he confirmed after smiling and nodding at Ren’s suggestion. “Looks like we’ve found our first activity of the trip! Also, only if you’re hanging onto the back of your father or myself can you ride one.’’ So once he and Ren did look into things, then the younger trio would get their wish. As for surfing? Well, that was up to Renner. If Vasco was any good at surfing, Raju would say yes but as it was, he wasn’t sure what skill level that was. "Who knows what other activity you'll find waiting for you three." The knowing look to Ren was returned.

Speaking of questions… “You three should do some exploration of the place as soon as you have the time.” Raju grinned before actually snorting. “Almost is the key word there, I should think.” That was his way of saying Vera nor Vasco would be drinking any wine. “But don’t worry. Your father and I will drink enough wine for you both,’’ he added cheekily.

Phew! Parenting was hard work. Was it parenting though, if he wasn’t exactly the three kiddos’ parent? Why was this so confusing? Why was he overthinking it?

Anyway, the Quidditch coach truly appreciated Vasco, Vera and Vesper for expressing their happiness with the cottage. It really helped to lift the nervous burden that had been weighing on his muscular shoulders. He leaned into Renner’s side and made shooing motions to the kids. “Go on. We’ll reach back here in half an hour.” It may not be enough time to fully unpack but it would be enough to get a few essential belongings put away. As for Raju, he usually travelled lightly, a habit since his Quidditch playing days so there wasn't that much for him to put away. He allowed himself to be steered toward his and Ren’s room.

[Chelliephone]

If she HAD heard Vasco, she probably would have used those words over him for the rest of their existence. Even if she felt similarly about her brother, that didn't mean she was above lording the fact that he needed her over him. As the sibling that probably had the least to contribute, she had to take her wins when she could okay?

When Scoot's arm snaked around her waist, Vera returned the affectionate squeeze and beamed down at her sister. Any residual disappointment for lack of privacy was fading even further. How could she be at all upset anyways when she'd be bunking with the cutest of little sisters? At Vasco's comment, she met his grin and returned the gaze before giving an agreeing nod of her head. "It's first night of vacation. We have to have a slumber party and make plans for what we want to do for the rest of the trip, right?" Which might also include a detailed plan that she'd probably make Vasco do all the work on (probably per both of their preference) outlining why they should be allowed to do more dangerous activities during this family time. Looking back to her father and Raju at Ren's suggestion for battling over the other areas to sleep in the house, Ve just gave her head a shake. "The arrangements are fine." If they were all going to have sleepovers anyways so they could stay up talking or watching movies or games or... whatever, then maybe they could use the open room anyways for whenever any of them needed to reach out to friends or uh... friends. "We are turning the shared room for tonight though into a massive fort right?" She thought last minute to ask of her siblings, glancing at both of them. That would take some time too after beach - unless they worked on it now - but it was well worth it.

After she'd voiced the suggestion of beach instead of pool, Ve was pleased to hear the enthusiastic responses from the rest of the family at the idea. She even got a 'great idea' from Raju, which made her beam ever so slightly more. She was hoping there was a volleyball court or something down by the water to where she could join in on a local game. Surfing sounded like a ton of fun too, but until she heard the patriarchs responses to that idea she would leave her own request to do that as well off. They WERE clearly pushing the limits pretty far already. But one couldn't really blame the twins for trying to take advantage of that vacation euphoria, could they?

The twin still got a bit of a side eye, before she was cajoled by his exclamation. With her bag held in place by the now weight of his arm around her shoulder, she slipped her open one around his waist and gave Vasco affectionate squeezes this time - the three siblings now connected. As much as they picked and annoyed each other (mainly the older two), she was close to both of them and with all of the activities the men had clearly planned for them Vera was looking forward to a very fun filled vacation. And the fact that it sounded very much liked she and Vasco had won their first request (which was very difficult for her to not drop her mouth open at), she was even more excited.

Disengaging herself from the other two siblings so they could all fit through the door frame, she followed along after Vasco, her eyes taking in the spaciousness of the cottage as she nodded her head in agreement with birdbrains praises. The place did look nice! They'd definitely have a fun and comfortable time here. At the quick declination of her second attempt to get away with someone, Vera just smiled cheekily back at Raju as he reminded almost was a key component to her sentence. She even let out a small laugh when he assured he and Papa would make up for the fact the twins would still not be allowed. Considering the vibe of how many other 'arguments' they might be able to win, she couldn't be too perturbed on this one. "Fair enough." She ended up responding with, before being very ready to take on the suggestion of getting ready for beach and exploring further.

Vera was about to challenge the siblings to racing to the rooms to pick which one they'd sleep in and which one to use for privacy, when she paused and instead turned back to the men ready to go to their own quarters. Skipping over towards them she stood on her taaaaallest tip toes to press a quick kiss to Papa's cheek, before also reaching out and giving Raju an affectionate and appreciative squeeze to the arm. "Thank you." She told them both simply, before giving another beam and turning back around. "Race you guys to the rooms!" She called to the siblings, before the soon to be 17 year old took off through the cottage.

[Kolyander]

This was why she was... NEVER EVER going to find out. He knew better than to let her hold something like that over his head.

How did he know, how did he know? He just knew his sisters that well. "Sounds like a solid plan to me." Solid as in.. he would be doing most of the planning and keeping track of everything as per usual. That was pretty much his thing anyhow. As for them all turning the spare room into a fort, yeah he was game. "The usual arrangements? I'll work on keeping everything up and you two can set up the sleeping areas?" Since he was still the tallest of the three it just made the most sense for him to work on that area of the fort for them.

So they were heading down to the beach once they had gotten things unpacked. He could handle that. The beach held lots of potential for fun. So much so that he wasn't even really thinking about anything else right now.. well.. except for perhaps the mirror that he happened to have in his bag. Maybe he could sneak in a quick call to someone if he got changed quickly enough before they all headed down to the beach.

Momentarily lost in his thoughts, Vasco almost didn't hear Vera about racing to their rooms. When even had she let go of him?! Uhhhhh... No one mind him right now! After a few blinks he took off after his sisters.


Vesper beamed up at her big sister as brightly as one small girl possibly could manage. If it were up to her, they would always share a room. They always had the very best time together so why not let it be that way constantly? Just like the three of them building an epic fort together. How much fun was that going to be?! "Yesssssssss! This is going to be the best!" Cue immediate bouncing on her feet right where she stood.

"Great! I want to get lots of sun this summer!" What she meant by that was lots of time outside and not burning up like a crisp buuuuut to each their own. "That's a-okay with me! As long as I'm included I don't care how." The almost teenager giggled. If she had to sit on the back of a bike holding onto one of the older men, that was fine by her. If she wasn't allowed at all... well that would be sad but perhaps next time. "Will there be fish in the ocean?" Yeahhhhhh, her mind was right back onto the beach already.

The first thing Vesper did upon being let go so they could all walk through the doorway was stare at everything. "This is so cool! Look at how big it looks!" A huge smile was aimed at Raju and her papa. "This is so great! Vera, wait for me!" Already laughing, she took off running after her older sister not even noticing that Vasco wasn't chasing them right away.


Ren couldn't help but chuckle at how quickly the kids all seemed to agree to the sleeping arrangements. No one would be sleeping out on the couch tonight! It came to no real surprise to him that they wanted to have a slumber party in one of their rooms on the first night. "That's fine, this is a vacation after all so if you stay up all night talking or whatever don't blame us tomorrow if you end up tired." That was the only thing he was going to say about it.

Moving on! "Wonderful! I'm sure there's plenty to do down on the beach besides simply swimming in the ocean. As for there being fish in the water.. there might be some smaller ones, that I'm really not too sure about." He hadn't a clue if they would get to see fish where they would be swimming. "Perhaps we can check into surfing while we're down there." He may have even set up some lessons already!

And look at his two oldest surprising him with no arguments! Renner smiled at them both and patted his son on the back, Ve getting an affectionate shoulder squeeze. "There's going to be loads of things to do here that you're both the proper age for, so no worries about any of that, yeah?" Both Raju and him would make sure they all had a terrific time and got to experience as many things as time allowed for.

Each of his kids had their own way of showing how grateful they were. Vera's cheek, Vesper's screams and well... his son appeared distracted for a few moments there but Ren knew the young man was glad to be here as well. "You're welcome. We'll meet the three of you back here in half an hour," he called after them, laughing lightly.

"Well I think it's safe to say that they all seem very happy so far, don't you?" Ren asked, directing the question to Raju as he opened the door to what would be their room and stepped inside.

[FearlessLeader19]

The kids hadn’t much to worry about in terms of activities to pass their time; there was plenty to do here. In any case, Raju was one hundred percent certain that they’d come up with a list of activities on their own so that left him hoping there would be enough time to do it all. Building a huge fort was something they would have time for though. The rapid pace at which plans were being made left him feeling satisfied and his slight anxiety about the entire trip was ebbing away.

Watching the trio of siblings, Raju couldn’t help but admire the love among them and the way they got along with each other. Renner did a right job of raising them and Raju was sure the other man was proud of them. Something else that made him happy? The fact that he and Vera were getting along well. He wasn't detecting any awkwardness or forced conversation between them. His heart was light now!

Having fully expected the kiddos to excitedly go get ready for their first outing, Raju was somewhat surprised when Vera doubled back but then the reason became clear why she did this. He grinned in amusement to see her struggle to reach Ren’s cheek. Yes, that man was so, so tall! It just was possible that his heart melted right there and then at the gestures of gratitude he himself received. They meant a lot to him, more than anyone else knew. “You’re welcome,” Raju replied, giving her a smile as he fought against becoming overwhelmed with emotion. One was also sent Vasco’s and Vesper’s way as they hurried to catch up with Vera and get themselves ready for the great outdoors.

Having followed Ren into their room, Raju set his bag down before turning to survey the room briefly. It wasn’t as though he didn’t know what it looked like but it was just a habit of his - to do a quick double check of his room, a habit that dated back to his Quidditch-playing days. “They do.’’ He turned to face Ren, smiling widely. “I think they’re going to keep you on your toes more than usual.” Raju would do his best to help Ren, of course. “Does Vesper have an interest in fishing?” he asked while using magic to unpack his and Ren’s belongings.

[Chelliephone]

With Papa and Raju having been properly expressed gratitude towards, she had been racing through the unknown layout of the cottage - the sound of Vesper and Vasco behind her. Picking one of the doors, she flung it up and stepped inside, spotting a couple of beds and figuring this was the room for the girls. Which meant it was also probably the larger one, since two of them would be being housed in here. Dropping her bag onto one of the beds, she turned to smile at the door to see if either or both of her siblings had arrived as well. She had noticed Vasco's distraction, but only so because it meant he and those obnoxiously longer legs had not gotten there first.

Going back to the earlier question he'd asked too, about their usual plans, she remembered to call out a response for that. "Usual plans works for me! I think we should use the two beds for part of the fort to elevate the top, but we should roll out a bunch of sleeping bags and blankets and all the pillows we can find onto the ground to make a nest." They could all sleep like Birdbrain tonight. Climbing up onto the bed to sit cross legged next to her bag, she pulled it open and onto her lap to rummage through for the beach items she'd need for later. "What do you guys want to do first when we get down to the water?"

[Kolyander]

Vesper might be the youngest Thanatos kiddo but that didn't mean she couldn't keep up with them. The almost thirteen year old had raced after her older sister so quickly that if the bedroom door hadn't been opened by Vera (thanks to the older girl getting there first!), this girl surely would've collided straight into it. With the door being opened though, this allowed the overly hyped up birdie to take a flying leap in direction of the other empty bed as she came charging into the room.

Laughing as she laid there in a starfish position in the middle of the bed, her bag thrown down beside her, Vesper turned her head to look at her sister. "If we need more blankets and pillows, I can ask papa or Raju to duplicate a few for us." She wanted all the blankets and pillows! "Swimming? No, sandcastles! Collecting seashells!" Could they tell how indecisive she was? There was just so much that she wanted to do!


With both of his sisters running off ahead of him, all that left Vasco to do was follow them. It would give them the chance to find their room first and that would make it easier to find his own. Simple logic right there. No fuss needed. His method of following was also much more toned down once he caught sight of which doorway they went into. This being not that large of a cabin made it pretty easy for him.

”That's fine with me. Vesp, why don't you gather up as many pillows as you can manage then while Ve and I get started on the framework for the fort.” This would be simple work for the two of them to do together being they'd done this more times than he cared to count and Vesper could then go bug the men in charge to duplicate some pillows for her. Teamwork at its finest already in play. Most of this was said as he was walking down the hall and came to stand in the doorway, his gaze sweeping about the room. ”Whatever you two want to do first is fine with me.” They would both know that this was easily code for, he wasn't going to argue with them about what to do first because chances were high that he would lose anyhow.


My oh my! If this was just the first ten minutes of their vacation, he wasn't sure that he was ready for the craziness that was bound to come forth from these kids throughout the rest of their stay here. His bunch could be a handful on a good day back home but now they were all hyped up on holiday fun. Him and Raju were surely going to be in over their heads at some point. ”Ooooh, not only me. You too. They're going to be testing you know for sure to see what you'll let them get away with.” Which they had already tried with some of their earlier questions.

”I don't believe she's gone fishing in many years, if I'm thinking correctly. She was pretty small, she may not even remember. I think she'd enjoy it though.” His youngest was very outgoing like that, and was sure to have all the questions about fishing. While Raju magically put their things away, Ren took a moment to walk around the room and really take everything in.

[FearlessLeader19]

He and Ren might be in their room but he could hear the chattering of the three Thanatos kids. The words might be clear yet Raju could pick up on the excitement in those voices. It was true, they were a handful but they was a good handful; the former Quidditch player had long found out that he had enjoyed their presence. When they were off at Hogwarts, it took him quite a few days to adjust to their absence.

That earned a short round of laughter from Raju. “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. I reckon my experiences training the Caerphilly Catapults will be useful with those three firecrackers of yours. One of the Catapult or the other always wants to do something I don’t recommend.’’ Raju was quite prepared to help handle Ren with whatever Vesper, Vasco and Vera threw their way!

“Hang on.” Raju pressed his index fingers on either temple. “Adding ‘fishing’ to the list of activities for this trip.” Because rightly so, he had already made a list of activities for all of them to partake in; this list definitely was growing lengthier! Done being silly and perhaps a little entertaining for Ren’s amusement, Raju continued flicking his wand so that their belongings leapt into their draws and onto nightstands and dresser tops. “All done.” Well except for them changing into the appropriate clothing for a swim. But before that…

“I think we picked the perfect place,’’ Raju remarked, sliding an arm around Ren’s waist. “They wouldn’t want to go back to school.’’ Ren can decide if that were to happen, if it would be a good or a bad thing.

[Chelliephone]

Vera watched as Vesper came, quite literally, flying into the room and on the other bed. Giving a laugh at her younger sister and her now starfished position, she stood to instead move and flop herself down next to the youngest. “This room is really nice.” Not that she’d looked at the other one yet. “I think this will be one of the best trips we’ve had yet.” Which was maybe surprising she thought as much, but she’d been a lot less nervous about any type of ‘replacing’ Raju might be doing for them. Instead, it was really nice having him around. He could talk sports a lot better than Papa could, obviously. “There’s no such thing as too many, maybe we should ask them anyways.” As Vasco entered too finally, she turned her head to grin over towards him as well before pulling herself up to work on framework as directed. “We should probably do this quick so Vesper has time to do everything at the beach today.” Another smile towards her sister, before she grabbed her bag and quickly through her clothes into some drawers - leaving out her swimsuit and a cover up to change into later.

“I’m up for seashells first. And then maybe I can find a group playing volleyball too!” A big fan of competitive sports, she was. And while she wasn’t amazing at the beach ball game, she’d have a grand old time playing and then maybe she’d meet some new people to hang out with. “Vas, what should we do first for framework?”

[Kolyander]

To miss the excited chatter of the three teens (well one was almost a teen), would be like missing an entire Quidditch match while sitting right there in the stands. It wasn't so much that they were loud, but it was clear that they were in the other room. Ren was also able to pick up bits and pieces of the conversation they were having about how to go about building their fort and something about more pillows.

However his attention was more so on the man currently standing in this room with him. "So you're going to treat the children like a Quidditch team? I can't wait to see it," Ren laughed. Now that was something he wanted to see. Even if Raju was joking around, it would still be entertaining to watch.

The boyfriends antics were enough to get him laughing again. "Is that how we're going to make sure we don't forget things during this trip? Because if it works you might have to teach me that one." Ren grinned, glad they could always joke around and keep things very light and fun. "We did, didn't we? This place is gorgeous." He readily agreed, wrapping his own arm around his partners waist.


The smile that came across Vesper's face when Vera laid beside her was even brighter than before. "I like it in here. This bed is comfy." If they weren't all camping out on the floor in the fort they were building she would claim this bed for herself. "I'll ask them for some help when I gather up all the extra pillows and blankets. Which I can do in a minute!"

Following the guidance of her big sister, Vesper hopped up off the bed and grabbed her bag, moving over to the dresser so she could put her clothes away. Well everything but her swimsuit and something to wear over it. "Okay, now I'll be back!" Once she had finished, she dashed off out of the room to the other bedroom and living room area in search of all pillows and blankets. She was on a mission!

It was a good thing he had moved away from the doorway because these girls weren't messing around. One second they were calming chatting about what they were intending to do at the beach and how to go about the framework for the fort, and the next the girls were tossing clothing into drawers and Vesper was bolting out of the room. If this was what he was going to have to deal with for the entire vacation, he was going to need some headache potions!

"Seashells and volleyball. Sounds like a plan." Neither were high up on his list of favorite things but if his sisters wanted to then so would he. They would be doing stuff he liked too. "But first.. this fort isn't going to build itself." Unfortunately. No magic just yet."Same as usual.. we make sure it doesn't fall." Yup, he was messing her but no, seriously that was an important rule. "We go about it the same way we always do. You make sure everything down low is secure and I'll do the same with everything up high."

[FearlessLeader19]

Try as he might, Raju just couldn’t catch much of what those three kiddos were saying. Not that he was trying to eavesdrop. It was just that he loved that this vacation idea had worked out better than he had hoped and he enjoyed all the excited chattering. Maybe his ears had deceived him but there had been at least one mention of seashells.

Raju grinned broadly. “That’s the plan!’’ he replied. “I’m quite sure you and I will have no issues keeping them in check.” He had long ago learnt that putting things over in a clear, concise and gentle manner was a good way to start. If rebellion occurred, well… that’s when the need for different tactics. Anyway, he really wasn't worried. Those three kiddos were darn good ones when they wanted to be. “Mhm! That’s exactly how we’re going to be remembering things.” Raju couldn’t help but laugh as well; he loved being silly around Ren, as much as he loved making the other man smile and laugh. “I’m a great teacher and I trust that you’re an A grade student?”

The younger man snuggled into Renner’s hold. “It is! I bet the rest of the country is just as. We definitely need to go exploring tomorrow. I’ve got a list of places that are a must see while we’re here. Since the kids decided about spending time on the beach today, you and I get to pick where we will visit tomorrow?” Then the kids would get to choose the next day and so forth.

[Kolyander]

As long as the kiddos weren't plotting against Raju and himself, or coming up with ideas that would get them into trouble, he had no worries about what they were chattering about. Though he was sure something had been said about seashells for sure, likely from his youngest and was there something said about volleyball and more pillows?

"Well, that shouldn't be too much trouble seeing as to how we have a very small Quidditch team on our hands," he joked. They seemed to be missing a few players. Thankfully so for their sake too! "Hmm, how does it go again?" A grin spread across his lips as he laughed once more. "Oh, you know that I am." The best student when he had a teacher named Raju. Ahem.

Ren held him a little closer but only comfortably so. "That sounds like the perfect plan and one the kids can't argue with. Trading off each day works out just fine, it gives us all time to figure out what we want to do and plan ahead accordingly." They could easily pick one or two things each day, maybe more depending on what everyone had in mind.

[FearlessLeader19]

Raju wasn’t worried either. No matter what those kiddos threw at him {if anything}, he could handle it. He mostly had confidence in Vesper not plotting anything but he couldn’t say the same for the twins. Still, anything that occurred would just add to all the interesting things that were bound to happen on this vacation.

“It shouldn’t be but you never know with Vera around.” The younger man laughed, marvelling silently at how quickly the elder Thanatos girl’s brain worked to come up with shenanigans. True, he and Ren were short four players but no matter; they were going to manage {little did he know that before this trip was over, they would meet the fourth player and their future adoptive son}. “I know that all too well!” His smile melted into a smirk. “I appreciate that you always are a great student.”

This was such a warm and comfortable hold; Raju always felt at home in Renner’s arms. “Great! There’s so many adventures for all of us to have.” Not to mention the many that he and Ren would have together. “Some days we can just be spontaneous.” He lifted his face to press a kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. “Should we go see if those kiddos are all set to head outside now?"

[Kolyander]

One could only hope that the kids wouldn't be testing them at all or at least too much during this vacation. The youngest Thanatos child wasn't one for coming up with plots, she tended to help with them BUT that didn't mean much of anything at all when the three kids were all together.

"I wouldn't be worried if it were just one of them.. but the three of them together in that room plotting against them is what might be our downfall," Renner laughed, along with him. Vera was generally the one that came up with all of the shenanigans but Vasco made sure things played out perfectly and Vesper was an amazing little sidekick. The grin on Renner's lips remained. "It's so easy to be." That smirk melted his heart, did the boyfriend know?

Between all the activities they already had planned and everything he was sure the kids would come up with, they were going to be nothing short of busy bees this entire vacation. "I'm sure we'll experience a good many of them while we're here." They were going to be here long enough to do everything they all wanted to do. Ren returned the kiss with a nod of his head. "That's probably a good idea otherwise they might spend the entire afternoon building a fort."

[FearlessLeader19]

Whatever came his and Renner’s way, Raju knew they could handle it all. It had long been established that this duo made an ideal team. Raju had every confidence in himself and his boyfriend. “I’d tell them to bring it on!’’ the Quidditch coach said in his best fierce voice. But the effect was quite ruined when he started laughing along with the other man. “I dunno why I’m not worried when I should be at least a little.” Because, really, if Renner was a little skeptical of his offsprings’ potential antics. “I might be able to bribe Vesper into being a complete angel by offering her more time with Cheddar.” Hmm… it was an idea… a good one, though?

There would always be more smirks, Ren could count on that! If his smirks melted Ren’s heart, then Ren’s smiles and grinned touched Raju’s soul. The older man was quite certain that he’d feel this way about them throughout their trip and beyond. “We surely will. And maybe we’ll even want to come back more often to visit!’’ Little did either man know how those words would eventually come to pass! If it weren’t for the kids wanting to go out to the beach, Raju would have given Ren more kisses but instead, he took his boyfriend’s hand and began heading out of their room.

“Are you three ready?” he called as they neared the Thanatos’ kiddos rooms.

[Chelliephone]

Once they had all set to work as the designated tasks were outlined (not that they really needed to be - the three were pros at this by this point in time), Vera gave her siblings a little bit of a reprieve from her chatter as she set to work on all of the lower portions of the fort. It would be nice if she could use magic to make things adhesive to bed poles and whatnot, but for the time being this would work. Besides, if it all came down on top of them it's not like it would have been the first time (or probably the last) and usually it resulted in a good old laugh. She worked quickly, as she was certain her siblings did as well, since she could just feel the anticipation of all three for wanting to get out onto the beach as quickly as possible.

She had juuuust reached a spot where she would be comfortable stopping when Raju's words reached her ears. Standing up and dusting off her hands, for show of a finish more than any actual grime, she glanced over at the others. "I'm good. You guys good?" But didn't even wait for an answer before calling back out, "We'll be right there!" The oldest girl grabbed her swimsuit before giving a wave to the others and darting for the bathroom to do the quickest change and make sure her bag was packed, before bounding down the stairs to the two waiting men.

"Ready!"

[Kolyander]

True to her word, the youngest Thanatos child returned to the bedroom in only a matter of a few short minutes. Her arms laden down with the pillows and blankets that she had been able to find from the other rooms that weren't going to be used. "Will these be enough?!" She had collected the ones from the room Vasco would be sleeping in and the hall closet and the two beds that would be Vera's and hers. That should be enough?

Dumping her gatherings, Vesper got right to work in helping with the fort. Mostly with the bottom since she was still the smallest of the bunch and that was easiest for her. With the three of them working together it didn't take any time at all before they were finishing up, just in time too. "Be right there!" she called out to Raju and her papa, already in the process of changing super quickly.

All she had to do now was grab her beach bag and follow her big siblings down the hall.

Leave it to their little sister to bring back nearly every pillow and blanket in the entire cabin. Vasco laughed lightly when the younger girl came back into the room with a pile so tall she could hardly see around it. "Don't be getting yourself hurt now with all that, we're building a fort not a mansion," he teased. He didn't mind the extra comfort that blankets and things would give them though during the night.

While his sisters had taken to working on the bottom of their fort, Vas made sure the top of it wasn't going to cave in on them all... hopefully. This has happened a few times before over the years. No one ever got hurt from it unless his pride counted at all.

Standing back to take a good look at their work, he grinned at the girls. "It looks good." They always made a great team the three of them. Hearing Raju asking if they were ready to yet, he nodded to his sisters and headed to 'his' room to change. Some moments later he was in the hall with a bag slung over his shoulder. "Ready."

"Ooooh, lookit you challenging the children already," Renner teased, with yet even more laughter. There was no reason to fear any of his kids, they were all sweet and now that things were understand between them all there shouldn't be anymore issues. "Well, that right there is bribery at its finest if I've ever heard it before!" Vesper would love getting to spend more time with Cheddar, she loved him as much as she loved her snake Sherbet.

Was this something they were going to have to playfully argue about? Who was going to make who melt? Because Ren could certainly do so. "I wouldn't mind coming back here again and traveling to other places as well." None of them knew it yet just how much Italy was going to become a big part of their lives very soon.

With Raju's hand in his, he walked alongside him down the hall chuckling quickly as he heard the kids calling out to them one by one. "Looks like we have perfect timing. Who's ready to hit the beach and have some fun?" He gave the boyfriends hand a light squeeze, a grin on his face as all three of the kids joined them fairly quickly.

"Let's go!" Don't mind him as he ushered them all towards the front door. Maybe he was a little excited to get this family trip really started too.