Welcome to Gaia! ::

The few days after Alice's mum had reached out was incredibly stressful. She was on edge, despite his best efforts to make sure she was able to relax. Unfortunately, their work schedules weren't super easy to overlap, but he tried to make things work as well as he could. The night before the big day, he ran some fresh dye through his hair, trying to make sure he looked extra tidy. He wanted to make a good impression, just in case. He knew all about Alice's parents and while he wanted his girlfriend to have a nice, loving relationship with them.... well, her dad was a Grade A butthead.

The morning of their big meet up, Seb made breakfast, hoping to help bolster Alice's mood. He let her navigate them to the coffee shop, looking in to see her mum already waiting inside. "You're going to be fine, Liss. I promise I won't let you alone for even a second." He gave her hand a soft squeeze, a smile on her face. Hopefully everything would go smoothly. He looked over at the woman once they stepped in, making sure his face wouldn't betray his nervousness. Maeve seemed delighted, and even though Alice sounded formal-er than usual, it wasn't... too bad.

Alice introduced him and Seb offered a terse smile toward the woman. He knew way too many bad things about Alice's parents to not be worried about it. Maeve said that Alice was beautiful -which was true- and added that she remembered Sebastian too. He wanted to ask her to call him just Seb, but this felt more like Alice's moment than his. Instead he pulled out a chair for his girlfriend and scooted it in, then sat in the chair beside her. Hopefully they wouldn't have to drink any actual coffee. Yuck. Green eyes glanced over at Alice when the woman offered to buy them a treat, wondering if it was okay to actually do that. "Are you sure? I-I can pay for us two if needed." He had a little bit left over from paying bills, anyway. It should be enough to cover him and Alice's treats.

Seb smiled awkwardly when Alice's mum said that she'd already put her card on file. Oh boy. Though when Alice ordered a fancy coffee and a scone, he figured it was probably better someone else was paying. All his spare change was going into savings for now. "Okay, I'll... be back, then." He glanced between the two women, then walked over to the counter. As he waited (im)patiently for their treats, he kept looking over at the other two. He was really, really nervous they were going to talk about something horrible. Thankfully, the barista was done quickly and Seb was able to hurry back to the table.

Just as he was sitting down, Maeve thanked Alice for being patient. Seb set the drinks on the table, looking confused when the eldest said she was glad he and Alice were still together. What the heck were they talking about before he sat down? Alice seemed nervous, so he reached a hand over to hold her hand. Maeve started by saying she'd left Alice's horrible father. Apparently he'd gotten worse to Maeve when Alice left, and it was bad enough that she'd had to leave the church too. Seb squirmed uncomfortably, knowing that his own mama had had to leave a church because they were horrible. Seb just got really uncomfortable about church talk.

But now Maeve had left her awful situations, gotten a therapist, and even found a church with transgender leadership. She also asked Alice to get back in her life. Everyone was frozen, their hearts both beating weirdly fast. It was really frustrating to hear that sometimes. Alice looked like she was going to cry, but then she spoke up. She said that she had had a horrible life (which was true as heck) and that she wanted to try to let her in.... if... wait, what? Green eyes looked over at Alice with a confused expression. She wanted him to determine if it was okay?! Oh man. Now it was all on him. "I... don't know. I watched Alice spend the week before going home every week crying. I planned with Alice how to hide herself so you and... him wouldn't hate her. I was the first person Alice told about herself and I've been there to support her. And, by the way, since you guys stopped being a support network, if we could even say you ever were a support, it's been other moms stepping in. Miss Nora and my Mama, namely. Actually, basically every grown up has been more support. You and Brian," he practically spit the man's name, "left your only kid behind just because he didn't like the fact that Alice wasn't a perfect little carbon copy of him."

Seb sighed, not having meant to say that many words. This was supposed to be about making amends, probably, but he had to protect Alice. After all, he loved her with his whole heart. He looked down at the table, then added his final notes. "That being said, if you want to try and make up for lost time, I won't stand in your way. I want what's best for Alice, but... maybe you can prove to be part of that." Seb ran a hand through his hair, fluffing the indigo strands. He fixed his gaze on Maeve again, though his solemn frown remained.