Work Text:
To Felix, the train trip home spoke more of how the family had changed than anything else. It was the first time they’d not held an elder brother or sister with them for as long as Felix could remember – even after Mike had left school, there’d always been a brother or a sister tagging along because Mum and Dad had said it would be easier for them to travel together than come separately. But now Chas had finished at university, and Mike was at sea, and Con hadn’t decided that this month was just perfect for a holiday, and there was no need for any of them to act like Felix and Felicity didn’t have any idea which station to be at or which connection to take. They could finally show – absolutely – that they were growing up.
It was impossible to mistake Felix and Felicity as anything other than brother and sister; they still both had the same pink skin and silvery hair, and startlingly piercing blue eyes. Felix, for his part, was happy that he was now stood at almost six feet, significantly taller than his slight twin - although still rather smaller than his older brothers. Before he’d joined up, Mike had used to tease Felix that the twins were some kind of genetic throw-back; everyone else in the family had inherited their parents’ height. Felix had secretly minded until his recent growth spurt – and until he’d made the First XI. Height didn’t matter so much when you could out-bowl any of the Sixth Formers.
The train trip had taken place mostly in silence. Felicity's mind, Felix knew, was still full of the small solo performance at her school's end of year matinée which had earned her a few words of praise from the Artistic Director herself. Felix was deliberately not thinking of the same matinée. The dancers that always twirled through his sketch pad were starting less like his sister and more like a certain wild-eyed, dark-haired classmate of hers, and he didn’t want anyone else noticing that just yet.
The third member of their party, their younger brother Geoff, was asleep. As the Middles at their shared boarding school regularly held end-of-term midnights, Felix did not find this entirely surprising. He was also thankful for it - Geoff was, in Felix's eyes, a real nuisance most of the time, not least because asleep was the only time you could get him to stop talking. Hopefully he’d have slept off the worst of their misadventures by the time they got home, or Mum would ask questions and it would all come tumbling out. And Mum was not keen on midnights.
"It will be our stop soon," Felix said presently, and Felicity glanced at her dainty wristwatch.
"Quite soon! Where's my jacket gone? Oh, Geoff's using it as a pillow - wake him up, Felix, we don't him to leave anything behind." Felix thought he could quite happily have left him behind, and he grinned suddenly as he imagined trying to explain that little situation to his parents. They’d probably have to be chaperoned home for the rest of their lives.
By the time the train pulled into the station, all three Maynards were ready, and Felix made sure he was closest to the door so that he could leap out and retrieve their cases. Felicity, guessing his plan, went in the opposite direction to find whoever was waiting for them, while Geoff tagged along with Felix, almost upsetting a whole stack of luggage as he hunted for his own labelled trunk. “Don’t be such a kid,” Felix told him sharply, and wondered if he was going to have to keep an eye on him all holidays.
Felicity, meanwhile, had found their ride – their older brother, Charles. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, after throwing her arms around his neck in what she considered to be proper sisterly affection.
“School hols, same as you,” he returned equably. “We broke up a week ago, and I thought Len and Reg would like their house to themselves for a while.”
"And where are Mamma and Papa?" she asked.
"At home, of course," Charles replied. "You'll see them soon enough. Hello, Felix! are you doing all the heavy lifting?"
"Only Felicity's - as usual," Felix told him, grinning at Felicity, who was used to his teasing and so ignored him.
"And young Geoff - had a good term?"
"Ra-ther," Geoff enthused, and launched into a confused story about one of his history teachers and a prank involving a fake moustache and a tube of toothpaste. It lasted into the car and until they were almost halfway home, at which point Felix finally got a word in to ask Charles how he was enjoying teaching.
“Quite a lot,” Charles said. “Glad it’s at a day school, though. As good as most of the kids are, I’m not sure I want to be spending every waking moment with them.” Felix chose to interpret ‘kids’ as the Juniors and Middles, and enthusiastically agreed.
“I’d hate to teach,” Felicity said. “I know the parents think I might fall back on it if I ever can’t dance, but I shan’t – I’ll do something quite different. Like…” and she paused, and Felix thought she was probably unable to imagine a world in which ballet was denied to her.
“Horticulture,” Charles suggested with a smile.
“You could get married!” Geoff piped up from the back seat.
“Acting,” Felix said.
“Something magnificent,” Felicity said seriously.
At home, Joey was at the gate to meet them, like always. Felicity threw herself at her first, closely followed by Geoff. Felix made sure to help Charles unload the car before he found himself pulled into a tight embrace, then held away at arm’s length and viewed with a critical eye. “Surely this isn’t my son?” Joey teased. “I can’t believe my Felix is old enough to single-handedly lead his team to victory over St Stephen’s-“
“It wasn’t single handed!” Felix objected.
“It is to hear your father tell it. Hi! Geoff – bother, he’s off,” as Geoff rushed into the house in search of his own twin sister, Phil, leaving his case behind. Charles shared a grin with their mother and took it in himself.
“Now that you’re here, we’ll have Kaffee and Kuchen,” Joey said. “Wash up, and then come down to the Salon – you can unpack later, for once. I want to hear about the matinée, Felicity!” Obediently, the twins took their cases upstairs to their rooms, where they were instantly mobbed – if mobbed was the right term – by their youngest sister.
“It’s so boring with just me and Phil at home,” she complained as they headed to the Salon. “Even Erica hasn’t been home, not for weeks and weeks.”
Felix and Felicity exchanged glances and Felix said, “It’s hard to get time off from university when you’re doing research, like Erica is, kiddo.”
“And we’re home now until September,” Felicity added. “Which is weeks and weeks.”
“You better come in before Geoff eats everything!” came a voice from the Salon. Phil, her deep red hair in two massive plaits, grinned at them as they came in. “Did Mamma tell you about the Sale? Vanna di Ricci was there and she said I sang beautifully. And Papa said that if I do as well next term as last term he’ll see about getting me proper lessons. And Plato said-“
Felix had forgotten that Phil ran on just as much as her twin did. He eyed the number of cream cakes on Geoff’s plate, and carefully moved his mother’s cake trolley out of his reach. Their father came in then, and Felicity interrupted Phil to give him one of her exuberant embraces. By the time that Joey arrived bearing the promised coffee, Charles had also joined them, Jack sharing what family news he could remember.
“Now,” Joey said, having poured out large mugs of milky coffee – and slightly stronger ones for her, Jack, and Charles, Felix noticed – “Felicity, you’ll tell us about the performance, won’t you? Next time we’ll have to come and see you again – we were sorry to miss your solo.”
“It was only a little solo,” Felicity reassured her. “And the pas de deux - but, oh, Mamma! You’ll never guess – the Director herself said that I danced well, and that she’s glad I’ll be in the Upper School next year! Wasn’t that nice? I’m glad that she noticed, because it’s awfully easy to feel that no one is noticing.”
“That’s wonderful,” Joey said warmly. “And you’re making me even sorrier to have missed it. I suppose Phil has already told you her news?” Her eyes danced, and Felix guessed that Phil had been telling everyone her news, ad nauseum.
“And we know that Geoff’s had a good term,” Jack put in – the kids’ exams were always marked more quickly than the Seniors’, and despite his poor mathematics Geoff was already assured a remove next term – “How about you, Felix? Expecting a good report?”
"Nothing exceptional," Felix said, trying to sound casual. "Chuckles - Mr Charleston, I mean - says I'm to be a prefect next term."
The effect was instantaneous. Joey sprung up - almost knocking her cup of coffee over while she was about it - and pulled him into another tight hug. Jack waited until Joey moved away and then shook his son's hand - like a man, Felix thought. Felicity beamed at him as if his prefectship was her own idea, and Claire and Phil both clapped their hands. Only Geoff looked disconcerted.
"You'll be able to give me detentions next year?" he asked.
"Not if you don't do anything wrong," Felix returned smartly. He thought he heard his mother swallow a laugh.
"It was the same for all of us," Jack said dryly. "My brother used to give me a good telling off when I was a Junior and he was Head Boy, whether I deserved it or not-"
"And your Auntie Madge used to give me a talking to and a half whenever I stepped out of line," Joey added cheerfully. "Not to mention Felicity having all three sisters as prefects at once."
"And Mike used to have a go at me, when he wasn't even a prefect," Felix added, the remembered injustice over-ruling his smug feelings of superiority. He glanced at Geoff, and felt a sudden wave of – something. Solidarity, maybe.
“Growing up isn’t all that easy, is it?” he asked Charles the next day. They’d walked to the Auberge together, Felix to work out the rest of the stiffness after his journey home, and Charles for his own reasons, which as usual he didn’t share with anyone. They both sat on one of the outdoor tables, enjoying the morning sunshine; Felix had his sketch pad open in front of him, roughly drawing the crooked fence that was all the separated the visitors from the echoing valley below.
“Not a bit,” Charles agreed. “But I suspect it’s worth it in the end.”
Felix leaned back in his seat. “Worth it how?”
“In different ways to different people,” Charles said, which Felix didn’t find particularly helpful, but he went on, “Felicity will think it’s worth it when – if – she’s able to live off her dancing. For Margot it’s getting to treat people who can’t afford their own medicine. For Len it’s having Reg and teaching – and for me it might be teaching too; I’m not sure yet. As for you…” He tapped Felix’s sketch pad. “Maybe there’s a certain ballerina out there who won’t want you to be a school boy forever.”
Felix felt his cheeks redden, and snapped his pad shut. Charles smiled, and the brothers fell back into silence.