Aaron Lucas (thirdandlast) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2019-11-19 19:59:00 |
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Entry tags: | #january 2018, aaron, aaron x caden, caden |
Who: Aaron and Caden
When: Evening, Sunday January 7
Where: Caden’s home in Seaview
Status: complete
Aaron’s car was in the drive when Caden got home, which meant it was probably a good time to talk to his brother about returning to work. He was kind of hoping Gavin would just take care of this, but Caden had offered, so he might as well try. Once he was inside he tossed his keys onto the table and shrugged out of his coat. Wandering into the kitchen he grabbed a beer and then began to search for the leftovers from Roxy’s cooking the night before, but they were gone.
“Dammit, Aaron,” he muttered before closing the fridge and twisting off the cap from his beer bottle. He took a long pull from the bottle on his way down the hall to the guest room and he rapped his knuckles against it, hoping Aaron was alone and sober. He didn’t think Mila would ever want to come over here again, but he doubted the two were going to fuck in her prissy parents house. If they were even fucking again yet.
“Hey, you up?” Caden asked against the door.
It had been good to see Adrian, and even better to see Mila, and even better than that to see them both together and know he’d helped make it happen. He loved her to pieces and he was coming to see Adrian as a brother, so he wanted to make them happy. That was what family did. He’d wished Adrian luck before he took Mila home. Once he was back at the house, he got a snack for himself and went to relax in his room for a while. Aaron had played on his phone and watched TV and dozed a bit, and he was still lounging when Caden knocked on the door. He grabbed the remote to turn the volume down, but didn’t really sit up from where he was sprawled, propped up a bit with pillows on the bed. “Yeah? Come in,” he called back.
Caden opened the door and felt a brief sense of relief that Aaron was alone. "Got a minute?" It was just a courtesy to ask, because Caden didn't wait for an answer as he stepped inside and leaned against the wall, beer in hand. He probably should have brought one for Aaron, but given that Aaron had been mixing alcohol with his pain killers, he figured he ought to be a somewhat responsible brother and not encourage it. "How've you been feeling? How's Mila?"
Aaron had nothing but minutes, and not all of them were comfortable since he’d relinquished his medication to Adrian. He hadn’t had a drop to drink either, which was proving to be even more of a challenge, and his gaze lingered on Caden’s beer for a beat too long. He had gotten a little stash of joints from Jasper for when he really needed something to take the edge off, but in Aaron’s opinion pot was healthier than any other option, so nobody should bitch about that. It was a bit strange for Caden to come in and ask after him and Mila both, and Aaron gave a bemused sort of smile. “I’m okay,” he said. “Feeling stronger every day, I guess. It’s slow, but it’s healing. And Mila’s pretty good, just kinda smothered by her parents. ... how are you? How’s Roxy?” Aaron was almost certain Caden wouldn’t answer those, he would get to the point of whatever he actually wanted, but it was kind of amusing to ask anyway.
"Fine and fine," Caden said with a lazy sort of grin. That was the truth, anyway. He was fine and Roxy was fine and there was no point in lingering over it. He was glad to hear Aaron was feeling better, even if the healing was slow. And he was also kind of relieved that Mila was with her parents, because that meant she wasn't here. "Look, Gavin and I were talking at the bar the other night... if you're feeling up to it, we think it's time you came back to work. We could use the help, and it'll be good for you to get out of this place and back into a routine."
That was about the answer Aaron expected. Caden never really told him anything of importance about his personal life, that was just how it was. He was always the one with his heart on his sleeve, always had been. Aaron raised his brows back when Caden got to the point and smiled a little as he sat up straight finally. He passed a hand over his short hair. “Yeah? I was gonna talk to you about that soon. If I can stay on light duty, I’m ready to come back whenever,” he said. “I need to start making money again, shit.” Aaron scratched a bit in his scruff and gave a chuckle. “And Gavin’s good with it too?”
"Yeah, of course he is. You know Gavin. Likes to sit on his butt in his office while we do all the work. With you being out, he's gotta actually talk to people, and you know how much he hates that." Caden grinned. "We'll start you off light, don't worry. Miles is a skinny fucker, but he's been able to do a lot of the grunt work without any issues." But it also meant they were all working a lot more hours during the week without Aaron around. He took a quick sip of his beer, studying Aaron closely. "You know we're not going to kick you out or anything... but are you thinking of getting back to your own place soon? You and Mila probably want some kind of privacy, huh?"
Aaron laughed and nodded, because yes, that was Gavin all over. Just let the hermit man stay in the back and do all the paperwork and stuff. Aaron couldn’t haul kegs around just yet, but he could serve drinks and clean and such. This felt like a good omen that the timing was right. He raised a brow at Caden’s questions, then shook his head a bit. “She can’t live here again,” he said, a bit quieter. “It’s too close to the tunnel. So we talked about selling both our places and moving in together somewhere else. Like an apartment at Haven Park or something. I gotta clean up my trailer, of course, but ... I dunno, a fresh start might be nice, you know? I’ll try to make it happen fast. You guys should have your privacy too, bein’ newlyweds soon and all.” Aaron offered him a crooked little grin.
He was both surprised and... not... at the news that Aaron and Mila wanted to move back in together, somewhere away from Seaview. It still baffled Caden that Aaron trusted her, after she had tried to kill him, but he didn't want to dive deep into that. He still worried sometimes that he would slip up and tell Aaron, or someone, what he and Gavin had been responsible for. The guilt gnawed at his stomach for a moment, but he washed it away with another drink of beer. Being called "newlyweds" was certainly distracting enough. "We've been together over five years. Married or not, that newlyweds phase is long gone. But you know, if you two sell your trailers, you might be able to afford a small house somewhere. Apartment living is just throwing money down the drain. 'Course Mila will have to work too, if she's ready for that. Not dragging your feet is good, but don't feel like you've gotta be out of here tomorrow either."
Aaron thought getting married would at least renew the newlywed feeling for a little while, but he was very aware that he was a romantic and Caden was not. He’d often wondered why Caden and Roxy were still together, with as much as they fought sometimes, but it wasn’t his business to make judgements on. If they wanted to get married, more power to them. He would just insist on the same respect and not hear any bullshit when it came time for his and Mila’s wedding. Hopefully, anyway. “I’m kinda hoping for a house, yeah. I just don’t wanna like ... be stupid about it. But yeah, she really wants a job again, I think she’s feeling pretty smothered at home,” Aaron said with a faint chuckle. He gave Caden a warm smile then. “Thanks, Caden. I owe you big time for all this. ... I quit takin’ the pills, by the way. And drinking. For a while.” Aaron wasn’t sure his brother would care, but it was good to tell him anyway. It would keep Aaron more accountable, he thought.
Caden wondered how many people would give Mila a job. Everyone in town knew what she had done, and how she had disappeared for a couple of weeks. But she wasn't in jail, and as far as Caden knew, she hadn't been charged with anything. So who knew. Caden certainly wasn't going to offer her a job. Gavin would probably go through the roof if he did. "Well, get your shit together and be smart about everything. Talk to Gavin if you need real estate advice, or you know, a loan to get you guys on your feet. He's probably got the money for it." Caden found he was somewhat relieved that Aaron wasn't taking any more pain medication, but he didn't care much if he was still drinking. That seemed less dangerous than popping pills like they were candy. "That's good that you're not taking those meds anymore. You still in pain?"
Aaron knew that Mila didn’t want to work at the Porch anymore, and he couldn’t really blame her for that. They had hired Jocelyn now, so they were pretty good on waitresses. Mila deserved better than that place anyway. He wanted her to find something she actually liked doing. He hadn’t thought much about asking Gavin for a loan ... Aaron was pretty sure he wouldn’t give one anyway. Gavin didn’t trust him to accomplish much, he doubted his oldest brother would trust him to pay back a thousand dollars or more. But they would cross that bridge if and when they came to it. Aaron focused instead on the question, shrugging one broad shoulder. “Yeah,” he answered. “But it’s bearable. Mila wanted me to stop, so ...” Another shrug. She’d wanted him to quit mixing pills and booze and maybe cut back, but it made more sense to Aaron to quit cold turkey. “Speaking of pain, I heard you put the hurt on Dad the other day,” he added as it occurred to him. “Your hand all right?”
"I don't think you needed to stop taking your pain meds, just stop taking them with alcohol... and only take what's prescribed," Caden pointed out. He felt a small sliver of annoyance for Mila, because she shouldn't be telling Aaron how to manage his pain since she was the one who caused it. It made him wonder what happened to Aaron's pill bottle. If he tossed it, or Mila took it. The mention of their dad had Caden scowling and he glanced down at his hand. Some busted knuckles still, but nothing major. He was more bothered by his missing fingers, now that he knew what had happened to them. "Yeah, I'm fine. He deserved it. He's not supposed to come into the bar when I'm working. If you want to deal with him, you can, but if he gives you shit about Mila or anything else, he's gotta go."
Aaron just wrinkled his nose at the first part, not eager to try and explain to his brother that he didn’t think he could just take them as prescribed, without alcohol. He felt too fucking good on them, and he knew what it was like to have a lot in his system now, so he just didn’t want the temptation around at all. Especially if it was going to put his relationship with Mila in danger. “I saw Roxy’s face, so ... yeah, he fuckin’ deserved it,” Aaron agreed. He was a little surprised that Gavin hadn’t pummeled Joseph for it right when it happened, but he guessed there had been too much else going on at the time. “I’ll keep that in mind though. When I get back to work. I can start back tomorrow, maybe?”
Their dad deserved it for Roxy, and so many other things too. Gavin was just too much of a pussy to do anything about it, so Caden didn't feel guilty about anything he'd done. It was a long time coming, if you asked him. But he chose to focus on the good news here, that Aaron would be going back to work to lessen the burden on everyone else. "Yeah, if you're feeling up to it, that's fine. Maybe just a few hours to see how you feel. I'm sure Gavin and the others will be happy to have you back." He would be too, because it meant he wouldn't have to work as many damn hours as he had been. Caden paused briefly, though he was ready to go back to the living room and leave Aaron be. "Hey, do you remember much about the night I had you come pick me up from the hospital, after this?" He held up the hand missing the two fingers. "Do you remember anything I might have said about it?"
He didn’t want to, but the part of Aaron that was hyper-sensitive to such things took note that Caden didn’t say he would be happy to have him back, just ‘Gavin and the others.’ Was that really surprising though? No. Besides him taking back some share of the work, he was pretty sure Gavin wouldn’t be all that happy either. His eldest brother hadn’t even been to see him since the hospital, and he’d barely texted. Aaron was trying not to feel childish and bitter about it all however, so he just swallowed it down. Caden’s question was distracting anyway, and Aaron gave a thoughtful frown. “Uh ... yeah, you said it was a fight,” he answered. “Some guy fought dirty. But you didn’t really wanna talk about it, and the drugs had you pretty fucked up, I think. You told me not to tell Roxy anything. ... why, is it like, coming back as a problem?”
A fight. Well, that was probably the truth. But he felt some relief that he hadn't been stupid enough to tell Aaron who had been fighting. A witch, apparently. Hopefully he had caused some damage himself before his fingers were taken. Fuckers. Caden took a breath and shook his head. "Nah, not really. Like you said, the drugs had me fucked up that night, and I couldn't really remember what we talked about when you picked me up." Now he was eager to go before Aaron could ask anymore questions. "You need anything? Food? Something to drink?"
Aaron accepted that answer easily enough. Caden had made it clear at the time he didn’t want to talk about it, so Aaron had just put it out of his mind as one of those things that wasn’t his business. He had his own secrets, so he wasn’t going to begrudge his brothers theirs. “Nah, I’m good,” he answered, adjusting his position a bit to be more comfortable. “Thanks, though.” Figuring their conversation was over, Aaron picked up the remote to turn the volume back up once Caden left his room. It was back to normal tomorrow -- at least as normal as it could be -- so he wanted to enjoy being lazy for a little while longer.