{Wren} For the Girls

[michael]

Everything had to be simply perfect. A wide smile sat on the man's face as he looked at his handy work, flicking his wand off to the side as he set the last of the decorations. He had decided to hold his best friend's baby shower at his place so it could be more of a surprise for her. He just knew that if she had any word or part in this, she would've greatly cut down the decorations and expenses. But, in his mind, the event of having twins was something that just had to be celebrated in the most elaborate way possible. To say he had gone all out would be a horrible understatement. He had spent the morning turning everything pink. His couches were pink with red stripes, the walls were a soft pink with white polk-a-dots covering it. The tables were pink, the carpet, everything. He had balloons tied to every corner of the room and a variety of different shades of pink streams on the ceiling and walls.

In the center of his living room, he had placed a relatively large table that held the snacks. There were two cakes on it, one on each end of the table. On the left side, the actual cake was a chocolate and vanilla swirl with pink and white ruffles on it for the frosting. On the opposite side, another, not-so-edible cake sat. It was one of those diaper cakes that he had heard was going around the muggle world and it seemed like a fabulous idea. It had diapers curled and placed neatly in a cake-looking style. Ribbon wrapped around it and small flowers and butterflies covered it as well. In it there were a few items such as baby oil, baby powder, and a few other things that he knew she would need.

When it came to treats, he had pink-frosted cake pops, some popcorn, and two different things of fruit. The first one was arranged in a rainbow while the other sat in a carved watermelon that looked like a baby carriage. Yes, Michael had never one to do simple things for such wondrous occasions. With a sigh of content, he looked around at his handy work, mighty proud of all he had accomplished. Admiring his work, he hardly realized that someone was already walking into the room about thirty minutes before the shower was support to start.

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[wren]

Wren entered the flat above the wand shop, instantly almost blinded by the pink. Pink, pink, pink, and more pink. She smiled to herself, lightly shaking her head. She had told Michael not to make a fuss, but he had gone way overboard with everything, as she had expected him to do. She wondered if she ought to have dressed up a little, even if it was uncharacteristic for the down-to-earth, hippy-esque expectant mother to do. She had worn a gauzy white maxi skirt and a purple sleeveless top, and owing to her hatred of shoes, had worn flip-flops. She was loving the warmer weather, her only gripe was that she was too heavily pregnant to garden properly.

That would have to wait until next spring she supposed- but she did have some things that could be tended to during the summer... Resting a hand atop her dramatically protruding belly, Wren waddled further into the flat, looking for Michael in the sea of pink. She braced the small of her back with her other hand, as she inched ever-closer to her due date the physical discomfort was getting darn near intolerable. Her back and legs ached constantly, and she was always tired. She couldn't seem to eat enough to prevent her children from leeching away her energy.

Wren found Michael, and waddled over to him, beaming widely. Really, it was touching that he went through all this trouble for her sake, she just hoped he hadn't put himself through too much trouble. "You weren't supposed to make such a big deal," said Wren, playfully hitting his arm, though she grinned all the same. She gave Michael a sideways hug owing to the size of her tummy. "You didn't miss a thing," Wren said, noting the pink and red striped couches, "it really is elaborate."

[michael]

A wide grin stretched over his lips as he heard his friend's voice, laughing faintly as he felt her hit his arm. "In what reality was I not suppose to?", he teased right back, wrapping his arm around her in a friendly manner as she gave him a hug. He had been with her throughout most of her pregnancy and to say she looked ready to pop was an understatement. Her mid-section was greatly swollen and even if it was larger than most women's with a single child, he was amazed at how two baby girls managed to fit in there. Surely they were cramped. With another exaggerate sigh, he chuckled as he very carefully tightened his grip around her. "I promise you, though, this'll be the most amazing baby shower you've ever had!", he exclaimed, quite determined to make that statement true. As he stood there, though, his memory snapped to what he was going to do when she got here.

"Oh! Wait here.", he said with a giddy grin as he quickly darted out of the room, heading into the back room where he had a special gift waiting for her. He had been dying to give it to her earlier, but had made sure to keep his mouth shut. It took a few moments, but he soon came back, rolling a specially made swing. It had two swings that were connected together be a head bar. They were automatic as well, allowing the mechanics in the swing to do the swinging if Wren couldn't. On each swing seat, there was a fairly large stuffed animal. One was a white and pink-maned unicorn and the other was a pink and red striped kitty. "Surprise!"

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[wren]

Wren heaved a dramatic sigh, though she couldn't help but grin all the same. Really, Michael had outdone himself, she just hoped that he hadn't put himself through too much trouble, although he had insisted on doing everything completely over the top like always. "In a reality with a more compliant Michael Mandreo," said Wren chuckling lightly. She was thrilled to have reconnected with her old school friend, he had been present for the duration of her third pregnancy, and it had been one of the greatest things ever, enough so to the point where she wanted to ask Michael to be Poppy and Lucy's godfather. But that would come later- after the party when she would insist on helping him clean up.

"Oh I don't doubt that," said Wren with a smile as Michael released her, only to tell her to wait where she was. He returned only a short while later, dragging behind him a double infant swing. Wren lightly gasped in surprise before giving her friend a huge grin. Honestly, she had been trying for ages to magic her old baby swing into a double, but hadn't been able to get the mechanics of it just right with the charms she used. "Michael, it's wonderful," said Wren, grinning and moving to hug him again.

[michael]

Michael had previously been a bit nervous that perhaps she had something similar to this, but the look of surprise and happiness on her face told him everything he needed to know. With a wide grin, he happily took the hug Wren offered, laughing faintly as he lightly kissed her forehead in a loving, friendly way. "I'm so glad you like it. I was afraid you might've already had a swing for the two.", he admitted, keeping an arm around his best friend's waist both to help her balance and simply for the sake that he enjoyed the closeness of his greatest friend. Really, Wren was the person he trusted more than anyone else. Even when they were at school, she had always been the one person who had been there for him no matter what. Not to mention, she was the one who helped him during his time of need. When he had first came to the conclusion that he was gay, Michael had completely denied it.

His parents hadn't exactly been one to fully support same-sex couples and he had been afraid of what would happen if he tried to tell them. So, instead, he tried to change himself. He dated girls and he had, regrettably, also lost his virginity to a girl he had dated. It was a quite unpleasant experience he wished he could take back. Wren had been the only person he had gone to, though, for help and it was her that straightened him out and accept who he was. No, he still hadn't told his parents, but he would get there eventually. She meant so much to him, though, and he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. "Alright, so, don't hate me, but I sorta got something for you too for the party.", he said with a bit of a devious grin, waving his wand before a lovely, finely-made, but comfortable maternity dress came flying into the room. "Better change my dear before the guests arrive.", he said in a sing-song voice, laughing faintly as he quickly made his way to check everything to be sure it was all perfect.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Michael had no true intentions to pat himself on the back, but he was sure the shower had gone pretty damn well. It was nice to meet Wren's other friends and he enjoyed their company greatly. Well, all except for one. He couldn't clearly recall her name, but she just rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was just the obnoxious aura he received from her. But, other than that, it had been simply splendid. Smiling as he began to change the walls back to their original colors, he eventually called back to Wren. "Well, that had gone much smoother than I had thought it would be.", he said honestly, smiling back at her before looking over the number of gifts Wren had received and the mess he now had to clean through.

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[wren]

Wren grinned, lightly running her fingers over the bar that connected the two swings together. "It was the one thing I didn't have furniture-wise," said Wren, "I kept trying to magic the one I had into a double but it didn't work quite right." She briefly pulled a face, normally she was quite gifted with charms. It had been the subject where she dominated back in school, along with herbology, though she had honestly been miserable everywhere else. Still was, actually. So it was hard for her to not be disappointed in herself when she couldn't get a charm to work the way it was supposed to.

Wren gladly leaned her head against Michael's side, not minding the close contact. She was a very physical person, having almost a need to be able to touch the people she cared for. She had always been that way, fond of hugs and cuddling, it went hand-in-hand with her warm, sunshiny personality. The silence didn't last long before Michael summoned a pretty maternity dress, she blushed faintly, really he was too kind to her. "I told you not to spend loads on me," said Wren, pouting playfully as she ran her fingers over the material of the dress. Shaking her head lightly, she went to go get changed before the party started.

***

Wren sighed contentedly, a small smile still on her lips in spite of the fact that her cheeks were hurting from all the grinning she had done over the past few hours. Michael had done quite well on keeping his promise, the shower had been fabulous, she was sure everyone had had a great time, herself included. "It went wonderfully," said Wren, with a flick of her wand gathering the gifts and putting them all inside her magically-extended bag. She then eased herself off the couch, putting both hands at the small of her aching back, waddling to help Michael with the clean-up efforts. "Now, no back-chat, I will help clean up," said Wren, smirking a little as she went to gather dishes.

[michael]

The man chuckled faintly, grinning lightly, though his jaw was a bit sore. He had done a lot of chatter, a lot of smiling, and a lot of munching during the shower and his jaw was now begging for him to just stop using it. "I'm happy you enjoyed it.", he said as he finished up 're-painting' the walls, switching over to the couch. As he stared at the red and pink striped couch for a moment before lowering his wand. "Actually...I think I might keep it like that." The couches looked very well in those colors and it matched well enough with everything else. As Wren stood up, he nervously watched her, always afraid that she'd end up falling over or something. He could only guess how much those two baby girls weighed and it was a miracle to him that she didn't lose her balance. As she made her statement, though, Michael was quick to respond.

"No. Wren, it's fine really. I can get it done.", he began to protest, but as his friend practically ignored him and began to gather the dishes, he let out a bit of an exaggerated groan. "Fine. But..just don't over-work yourself, yeah? And, don't lift anything bigger than dishes.", he said, becoming highly protective of her. He didn't want her to hurt herself in anyway, and really, it was taking a lot for him not to just take the dishes and have her sit down and relax.

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[wren]

Wren began to hum lightly to herself as she began stacking up dishes, balancing them in the palm of her hand quite expertly. The only job she had ever had was being a waitress, having taken in up when she was sixteen, and quitting shortly after she had gotten married two years later. Though the skill set had stuck for the most part, although she didn't allow herself to carry quite so many, mostly because she knew how clumsy she was at the time. Wren only shook her head as Michael began protesting, heading into the kitchen to set the dishes on the counter beside the sink before heading back out to gather more.

"Oh Michael, you fuss worse than Zach," said Wren, playfully rolling her eyes as she picked up a few more dishes, "and I'm pregnant, not on my deathbed, I can help." After gathering the last of the dishes and taking them to the kitchen, she decided she would allow magic to take over, and flicked her wand at the impressive stack. The sink filled with hot soapy water and the dishes began washing themselves, she then went back to her friend. "Could I ask you something?" said Wren, this time not reaching for anything to clean up, not just yet.

[michael]

Michael could continue to argue his point, having a number of things he could use to say that she did in fact need to sit down and relax. There were a number of things that could happen. She could fall or trip over something, she could hit something and hurt herself, or maybe even twist an ankle! He had always been a protective person, but was overly protective of those he cared about the most. Wren was one of the people who would always have a place of her own in his heart. He was his best friend, one that he could never give up. As she went about, though, obviously firm on her decision, the man decided to let her go on with it. But, the minute something didn't settle right with him, he would have her stop. As he used his wand to start gathering the streamers, he kept an eye on his friend, just in case.

As she came up to him though, asking her question, Michael paused his work, turning to face her. "Of course you can. What do you need? Is something wrong?", he asked, covering the first concern that was always running through his mind.

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[wren]

Wren flicked her wand at what remained of the food, and it began marching itself back to the kitchen, where the leftovers would put themselves away, and the dishes they were on would join the queue by the sink. Really, she had more than mastered any and all household spells, they were a necessity when one had two small children very close in age, with another set of two on the way. It freed up a lot of her time to be the involved mother that her toddlers needed, or to catch a few hours sleep in the event that they both actually slept at nap time. "Nothing's wrong!" Wren said hurriedly, mentally scolding herself for her choice of words, "everything's fantastic, actually."

"You've been such a good friend to me for such a long time," Wren continued, "and I wanted to ask if you'd be Lucy and Poppy's godfather." There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he'd accept, and she had been meaning to ask for quite a while, she just hadn't had the opportunity, until then, that was.

[michael]

Michael relaxed as his friend reassured him that there was nothing wrong, though he made a brief glance over her just to make sure. He would hate to have her hurt in his house, he would've felt so guilty. Or, perhaps it was something that resulted from the pregnancy. Maybe she needed a back rub or foot rub. Either way, he would be willing to do whatever it was she needed. After having left her without contacting her, he was going to be sure not to do that again. He would always be there for her. As he listened to the woman, he smiled faintly at her compliment. He could say the same thing for her. Wren had always been there for him, and, really, he loved her like a sister. He was a bit thrown off, though, as she asked if he would be Poppy's and Lucy's Godfather. He had never had the honor of such a thing and the thought about it...He loved it.

"Oh, Wren, of course! I would be honored to be their Godfather.", he said with a wide grin. To think that she saw him in such a way made him so happy. He knew that the woman before him trusted in him, but enough for something like this...It made him wonder what he had done to deserve this. Of course, his thoughts could be over-reacting somewhat, but that didn't matter to him. With his grin still on his lips, he gently hugged his best friend. "You really want me to?"

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[wren]

Wren smiled softly, seemingly able to watch the thoughts unfold in Michael's eyes. He went from shocked to enthralled in about two seconds, giving her the positive answer that she had honestly been expecting. Really, she was so glad that they had run into each other again after all those years, Wren loved him like a brother. And while they weren't related at all, she saw this as a way to make him, unofficially, part of the family. Wren returned his embrace, grinning in spite of the fact that her cheeks were absolutely aching from smiling too widely and too frequently over the past few hours.

"Of course I'm sure," said Wren, "there's no one else I'd rather ask." Of course, were Violet still alive, Wren probably would have asked her dearest sister, they had been so very close, it was hard to think about, that she had been dead for nearly a year and a half. Violet, Jordan, and their unborn son. Wren was getting better, though, it was no longer a crippling burden, she still cried about it at times- but those were times when she was alone- the children in bed, Zach working late. It was hard sometimes, but Wren was moving on.

[michael]

It would be impossible at that moment to state his excitement. He had never been considered such a close friend to anyone before, at least not this close, and to have Wren asking him to be the godfather of her twins was thrilling. Yes, he knew that he wouldn't technically have much legal say with them, but that didn't matter too much to him. And, as he thought on it, he was determined to be in the two girl's lives. He knew a number of godfathers hardly had any contact with the children they were honored with. Hell, he hadn't even seen his own godfather in ten years. But, he didn't want to be some stranger to the girls. No, he wanted them to be comfortable with him and be able to see him as any sort of biological family member. Grinning brightly, he happily kissed his friend on the cheek, laughing faintly as he nodded his head, keeping an arm around her.

"Then, yes. I would love to have such an honor. Though, I'm gonna warn you now, I'm determined to spoil them rotten.", he said with a playful grin, though he was completely serious. Those little girls were gonna get whatever they wanted from him, as long as it was appropriate of course. He already had something floating in his mind before of the many items and outfits he would get for them, but now that he had a larger opportunity to see them more often, his idea list doubled in size. Oh, yes, he was going to make sure the twins lived like princesses when they were with him.

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[wren]

Wren continued to smile as Michael expressed his gratitude by kissing her on the cheek and keeping his arm around her. Really, she loved the contact more than she could say, and out of all her friends, he was probably the one that was least opposed to it. People that had known her for any length of time knew that a lot of physical contact was unavoidable if they wanted a relationship with her, but it seemed that only Michael readily accepted it, and oftentimes even initiated it himself. She leaned into him a little bit, it was nice to not have to support all her weight on her own when she was carrying around so much baby.

Wren playfully rolled her eyes when Michael warned her that he would be spoiling the girls rotten, but really, she couldn't say that she was surprised by the statement. She had come to think of it as terms of him accepting. "Just not too much, all right?" said Wren, chuckling lightly.