A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan
Rule 75- There's no problem that chocolate can't make at least a little better.

Ashton is staring at Marcus, clearly baffled.

"I... I am not sure I understood the majority of what you said, but I gather that you seem unhappy with me and that you do not approve of my relationship with your friend." Ashton reasons. "Ashton-" I start to interrupt but Marcus keeps going before I can say anything.

"Tha's not what I said. I jus' wanna know if you're gonna take careof her." Marcus pokes Ashton again and I can practically see Ashton fighting the urge to cringe backwards. He takes a sip of his drink, probably to delay answering. Questions like this are a lot more awkward when you have no choice but to tell the truth.

"I will happily take care of Katerina." Ashton assures him, patting Marcus' hand trying to discourage the poking. Marcus snorts in disbelief.

"Yeah 'til you leave. You're gonna run home an' neeeever think of us again." Marcus practically sings the last few words. The he sighs and continues.

"You won' take care of her long." Marcus glares at Ashton, or maybe over Ashton's shoulder because he is not looking straight. Ashton does his best to look Marcus in the eyes but I'm not sure he succeeds.

"I will take care of her as long as I am able." Ashton answers. The answer is sweet but vague, I mean there are lots of reasons why he wouldn't be able to take care of me, not to mention just because something is true now doesn't mean it always will be. But Marcus seems mollified. He nods firmly and nearly tips off his seat.

"Good." I glance at Fin and Lucy. Fin is watching curiously but with his usual poker face and Lucy is grinning and she mouths something at me. I think it was 'popcorn?' I roll my eyes at her but I can't help but smile. This is fun. "GROUP PHOTO!" Marcus declares stumbling to his feet. He struggles with his phone for a minute, but apparently he is weirdly good at taking selfies, even with his reduced motor skills and somehow we end up with a clear photo. I'll ask him to text it to us later.

We're contemplating ordering dessert. Luce and I aren't really hungry but Ashton and Fin seem to have bottomless stomachs. They both claim it's because of maintaining their glamours all the time but I suspect that part of it is they're enjoying trying different foods here. We're debating what to get and if we should order a few items and split them so they can try more things when my phone rings. Caller I.D. says it's dad calling. "Hey dad." I greet him cheerfully.

"Hi Kat, are you okay? Staying safe?" he confirms. I can't help but smile.

"I'm fine dad. I'm down at O'Connel's with Marcus and Lucy. Fin and Ashton are here too of course." I add.

"Good, good." he says distractedly.

"Dad? Is everything okay? You sound off..." I trail off. He hasn't actually said why he's calling and he isn't usually one to linger on the phone or call for no reason.

"I... No, not really. I have some bad news. It's good that you're with friends." Ashton and Fin both immediately turn towards me, clearly eavesdropping on the call. Lucy can't hear it but she can see their reactions so she knows something is up. The only one who seems oblivious is Marcus. We cut him off a while ago though so I'm hoping he will start to sober up a little bit soon.l

"What is it?" I ask quietly.

"There's been an incident and... Someone is dead." He pauses as if struggling to tell me. I'm frozen in place. A police station looking into deaths isn't weird, but he wouldn't be calling to tell me about it unless it was someone I know. "Who?" I can only get one word out. Fin is whispering to Lucy, keeping her updated on the side of the conversation she can't hear.

"Lara Rosi." Dad answers in a pained voice. I don't answer right away. I feel a bit like I'm choking. Lara works down at the station, one of the few female officers there. She's always been nice to me, almost like an aunt or big sister. I remember her coming by a few times after my mum died, just to check on us. She was one of the people who insisted that my dad come home on a regular basis to spend time with me. Without her and the few other people who helped us out, I think that he probably would have become even more of a workaholic than he already is. I realise that dad's speaking to me but I'm having a little bit of trouble processing the words.

"Kat? Katerina? Are you still there? Honey, are you okay?" Dad says urgently. Ashton carefully pries the phone out of my stiff fingers and answers for me.

"This is Ashton. Kat is... Upset. We will take care of her." He promises.

"I'll stay with her tonight." Lucy chimes in, her phone already in her hand as she contacts home to let them know not to expect her.

"Lucy says that she will stay too.... Yes I will tell her. She will not be alone." Ashton puts the phone down and before I can blink he pulls me into a tight hug, so close I'm practically sitting in his lap.

Marcus is looking between the group of us, confused. After a moment Lucy hops up, yanks him away and drags him to the bar where I can see her forcing glasses off water down him and updating him about the phone call. His rowdy objections quiet down and Marcus immediately seems more sober. Fin is watching both them and us. I feel like he's trying to figure out a way to help but he just has no idea. He moves away from the table to the bar where he asks Lucy something before talking to the server there.

"What can I do for you?" Ashton asks. I shake my head and bury it against his chest. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

"Nothing. I just need a minute." I whisper. If it weren't for his super fae hearing I wouldn't think that he could even hear me. As it is, he just nods and hugs me even tighter.

By the time Lucy and Marcus return to the booth, Marcus is far steadier on his feet. I wouldn't go so far as to call him sober, but he definitely has his head screwed on straighter than it was ten minutes ago. Apparently bad news is a great way to recover from being wasted. He slips into the seat next to me and holds my hand tightly. Lucy crawls through the booth until she reaches my other side where she leans against my shoulder, probably Ashton's too but he doesn't object to her closeness. Actually he adjusts how he's sitting so she can lean in more comfortably. The real surprise comes from Fin. He returns a minute later and drops a bowl in front of me.

"Lucy assures me that this is the right kind of comfort food to give someone who is upset, it is not the same as back home but I hope that it helps." he says quietly. I straighten up, still sitting in Ashton's lap and look at the bowl which is full of chocolate ice-cream with a chocolate brownie to one side. The whole thing is covered in fudge. I give him a weak smile.

"Lucy was right." I tell him. Fin sits back down across from us all. Using the free hand that Marcus isn't holding, I take a small bite of the treat and take a deep breath as I let the sugar do it's job.