Louis didn't fail to notice the intense look in Eivind's eyes as he sat down, placing a pitcher of chilled water on the table between them along with an extra glass in case his guest was thirsty. There was something wild in the man's eyes, a glint of severity that piqued Louis' curiosity more than anything else. He had noticed it before, both the first time they had met and then again in the hotel room, but the Frenchman had assumed all that had been due to the tense situations the men had found themselves in. Now that they were sitting there alone together, both relatively calm if somewhat on edge, Louis wondered if perhaps Eivind harbored such sternness in his gaze at all times. If so, he wondered how his son could be attracted to such seriousness. Blue had always been one to find comfort in fantasy and pretty things, not the harshness Eivind seemed to exude. Perhaps Blue saw something in the man Louis could not.<br/><br/>Eivind wasted no time in getting to the point of why he had come. Louis could respect that. It didn't serve either of them to toss empty pleasantries to one another when Eivind obviously had something specific on his mind. Louis listened in silence as the younger man made himself blunt, reminding him of all the things Louis had come to accept for himself since he had last seen his boy. Blue was gay. No changing that. Just the way the boy was born. Louis' strict Catholic upbringing wouldn't have seen it that way, but he knew that didn't matter much. Blue was gay, and he had chosen Eivind. Though Louis maintained some dislike for the man on principle alone, Katherine had made it clear Eivind wasn't all that bad. Polite, upfront. Intelligent, but in a salt-of-the-earth kind of way Louis had always appreciated. Eivind most likely didn't have a whole lot of formal schooling, but it didn't seem to hold him back.<br/><br/>Words were beginning to build at the edge of Louis' tongue, but before he could properly open his mouth to reply Eivind stopped him with a raised palm. Apparently the man wasn't finished, so Louis sat back in his chair and lifted his glass of water to his lips, sipping. The condensation on the outside of the glass sparkled like jewels in the late morning sunlight, drawing Louis' eye as he set the glass aside. Eivind's declaration that he was going to marry Blue left his throat feeling drier than it had before they had come inside the house. Louis didn't know what to say. The first time they had come together, he had thrown the commitment in the boys' face in an effort to show they weren't ready for such a step, and yet now Eivind was saying he<i>was</i>ready, and he was going to make it happen. The marriage wasn't presented to Louis as a challenge, however. It was packaged up as an invitation, a chance to reach out to his boy and make things right. His relationship with Blue had always been shaky, but there was an affection there beneath the hard stares and bickering Louis had come to desperately miss.<br/><br/>When Eivind had finished, Louis sat in silence for a long while, simply staring. His icy blue eyes were glazed over in thought, turning each of Eivind's words around in his mind slowly, analyzing and breaking down. After an extended silence pregnant with expectation on both sides, Louis sighed and began to speak.<br/><br/>“From what my wife has told me, you have been a good influence on my son. He has always been unfocused. Except when it comes to his art, and then he is like a laser. Never wanted to grow up. Only wanted to draw or paint. But now, he takes these things he loves to do and is finding ways to provide for himself. I have always wanted this for him, and it pleases me to know that he is making an effort to be more than just a boy who hides in his room all day.” He cleared his throat, giving himself time to collect his thoughts before continuing.<br/><br/>“I do not understand Blue's homosexuality, but my daughters have explained to me that I do not need to understand. It is not my place to tell my son who to love, despite the plans I had for him. He has never truly been one to listen to me, anyway. Always arguing, always being defiant. I had imagined my son would grow up like his father. Obtain a respectable job, meet a good woman, raise a family. But that is not what Blue wants. He wants this other life with his art. With you. And he is working toward that, no?”<br/><br/>It was the first time Louis had voiced any of these thoughts. To himself, to his wife, to<i>anyone</i>. He spoke slowly, methodically, hoping Eivind would be able to understand the deeper feelings inside of him he could not find the words to explain. “If you wish to marry Blue, I will not interfere. Blue is a man now. I see this. He will make his own decisions regardless of my wishes or anyone else's. If Blue wishes me to be a part of this... this event, I think it best he ask me himself. While I appreciate your efforts to reconcile my relationship with my son, it is not something you can do for us. I would be open to participating, but only on Blue's word. No one else's.<br/><br/>“I must ask though, Eivind, since you came here for my blessing. Why do you wish to marry Blue? You two have been together for a short while. Katherine and I married young, but we had been dating for a few years by the time I proposed. Don't you worry you may be rushing things?” For a man who seemed remarkably practical and down-to-earth, it confused Louis to see him be swept up by what seemed like fanciful romanticism. It was the unrealistic, the whimsical, the silly who married so quickly. Eivind did not seem like any of those things.