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— What is that ?
Baz sighed. They and Penelope shared a look.
— Mordelia, please . I need you to focus on what Miss Bunce is telling you. It’s very important.
— Exactly.— Penny added, shaking her head in agreement.— Except for the Miss Bunce part. I’m fine with just Penelope.
— Yes,— Baz smiled.— listen to Miss Penelope , Mordelia.
She elbowed them just slightly. Mordelia wasn’t paying attention, she just looked annoyed.
— I already know what she’s saying. That’s kid stuff. I’m going to Watford this fall, of course I know about first-year Magickal Theory already. Please. What I really want to know is what they — she points to the other side of the living room.— are doing. What’s that ?
Pen and Baz turned to look, even though they really didn’t need to. Simon and Shepard were the only two other people in the apartment, and it was obvious that Mordelia was curious about their horrendous, Normal blanket fort. They had spent all morning working on it. Still turned out terrible, if you asked Baz. They used three chairs, the dining table, and a few books they took from Baz and Penny. Didn’t exactly look like a masterpiece.
— That , my darling sister, is my idiot boyfriend, his idiot boyfriend, and their ugly blanket fort. Now can we please get back to studying?
Mordelia blinked.
— What does a blanket fort do ?
Penelope glared at Baz. They did not like her death stares.
— Basil. Have you never ever built a blanket fort for your sister?
— Wouldn’t want to waste her time. Or mine.— they scoffed. Penelope rolled her eyes, still looking angry.— You said the same about wasting your morning helping Snow and the Normal to build the fort.
— Oh, sod off.
— Language .— Baz replied sharply.— There’s an actual fucking child here, don’t talk like that in front of my sodding sister, you git.
— Mordelia,— after another eye-roll, Penelope got up, taking her hand.— I think we should take a break. Let’s go play in the blanket fort.
— Yes !
Before Baz could protest, both of them were already running to the fort. Which left Baz no choice but to follow, crossing the room and sitting down on the floor next to them. Simon and Shepard moved a blanket slightly, just so they could see everyone without any outsiders peeking at what was inside their fort.
— Well, well, well . Look who came to the fortress after all that “this is stupid and I’m not wasting my time” talk.— Shepard got hir head out of the fort, looking smug.— And with a visitor! So that’s what all of that noise was about. Hey, lil’ one.
Mordelia huffed.
— I’m not little. I’m not a child, I’m 10. And I’m taller than the average for my age.
— Gee, I wonder where you came from.— Shep chuckled.— Another Pitch, this one?
— Grimm.— Baz quickly corrected zir.— But she mostly takes after her mother.
— Oh, please, I’ve known her for three seconds and I can already see that she’s a mini-you. What’s your name again, mini-Baz?
— It’s- Mordelia.— she sighed, annoyed.— Can I just come in? I’ve never been to a blanket fort before.
— Of course!— Simon finally appeared, shoving Shepard’s head a bit to the side.— You’re more than welcome here, Delia.— they both moved to the side so she could crawl into the fort with them. Before Penelope and Baz could follow, though, Simon came back, blocking the path.— Sorry. She’s welcome, but you two aren’t.
— What? But-
— You two didn’t help with the chairs, the table, the pillows, the snacks, anything . And you said it was a waste of time. Now you don’t get to enjoy Simpard Castle. Fortress. Whatever.
Baz and Penelope shared a look.
— You named your fort?
— You’re not getting in.— he gave Baz a quick peck on the lips and hid back inside, satisfied. Inside, the situation was way nicer.
Mordelia was absolutely swooning over the fort.
— Told them it would be pretty cool.— Shepard whispered to Simon, who chuckled. Ze reached out for his hand, squeezing it and letting zir head fall on his shoulder, a playful smile on the lips of both of them.— She’s losing her mind.
The fort did look great. They did their best to make it big enough for Simon’s wings to fit – eventually, they did give up on that and just spelled them away, because the wings would knock the whole thing down every time Simon turned to do anything –, so it seemed big. And it was cozy, too. Shepard hung up fairy lights and placed extra blankets and some pillows on the floor to make it comfortable, plus a sleeping bag with more pillows under the table, with some food Simon made and a pile of board games he organized.
— How did you make this ?— Mordelia was practically glowing.— It’s perfect!
— Thanks, kid.— Before Shep kept talking, she gave zir an ugly look, which made Simon smile.— And, yes, it’s perfect. Also, we didn’t use any magic, which makes it even more special.
She lifted an eyebrow, and Shepard laughed.
— You made this without magic?
— Do I look like a mage?
She seemed satisfied by that reply.
— Tell me about it.
Shepard turned zir head to share a look with Simon, who shrugged.
— About… Being Normal?— ze asked slowly.
— No, of course not! About the fortress.
Shepard chuckled. Of course not!
— We wanted something big and nice, so we spent all morning building it. But it’s not that hard, you know. Doesn’t even have to take long. Especially if you use magic, but I think that kind of takes the fun out of it. You can probably make one in a few minutes in your room when you go home.
— At home ?— she made herself comfortable on top of some pillows.— I’m never leaving here!
— Not even for Watford in a few weeks?— Simon questioned, a playful grin on his lips. Mordelia actually stopped to think before replying.
— I'm not sure. I need more information.— she said, which caused Shepard to turn to Simon with a “What kind of 10-year-old says that?!” face.— What can we do here?
— Do you want to watch a movie?— Shep offered.— It’s one of the best things to do in a blanket fort, and we have snacks. We were just finishing one when you got in here. That’s why we didn’t come out to say hi when you arrived.
— Also, we thought you’d all be too busy with studying before you went to school.— Simon himself frowned at what he said. Studying before school. Those Old Families were weird , weren’t they? He shook it off.— Anyways. Movie?
Mordelia’s smile was the cutest little thing.
— Sure!
Ask anyone, Simon’s smile was also the cutest little thing.
— Nice! I’ll get popcorn and a charger for the laptop.
When Simon got out, Penelope and Baz were still on the floor by the entrance of the fort, lying down and looking bored. He held back a smile.
— If you two make the popcorn, you can come in and watch the movie with us. We can probably all fit.
Penelope didn’t hesitate before running to the kitchen. Baz got up and gave Simon a kiss.
— What are we watching?
— No idea. What does Mordelia like to watch?
— No idea either. I guess we’ll find out. When I get inside that atrocity you call a blanket fort.
— Do you want to be left out?
Baz lifted an eyebrow, with a smug expression.
— The right answer is “no”, by the way.— Simon mumbled, half-smiling.
— Fine. I’ll help Bunce with the popcorn, or she'll probably microwave it.
— I’d rather if you asked your sister about her favorite movies instead of helping Penelope. Y’know, sibling bonding doesn’t hurt . Of course, I’m only assuming. But, still. You love each other. Just talk.
Baz’s eyebrow went up again, slowly.
— Merlin, we’ve been through this.— Simon laughed nervously.— I mean it, just talk to her.
— It’s… hard. To really get to know her.— they confessed.— After being distant and emotionally unavailable for so long.— they exhaled.— I don’t want to deal with that right this second. Don’t you have any movie ideas?
— Er… Maybe...— Simon considered their options.— Shep was talking about a cartoon some days ago. It’s one of those that actually have well-developed queer characters. We’ve got four nonbinaries and a ten-year-old here, I guess a queer cartoon would be something good to watch.
— We’ll probably like it better than her.— Baz mumbled jokingly.
— You totally will. You love kid’s cartoons.
Baz pretended to be annoyed before getting inside the fort.
Sometimes, the best way to spend an afternoon is to binge-watch queer cartoons in a blanket fort with your family. Especially when family means a snarky ten-year-old mage, her annoying older vampire sibling, their dragon boyfriend, his Normal soulless boyfriend, and zir judgy witchy girlfriend.
Perhaps even Normal blanket forts were a little magical.