Gavin Lucas (viciouscircle) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2017-11-08 03:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | #september 2017, aaron, aaron x gavin, gavin |
Who: Aaron & Gavin (& Max & Rude)
What: Brotherly bonding
Where: Outside of town
When: Wednesday 9/13
Status: Complete
Gavin made a point of taking his dogs out of town for a day of frolicking fun at least once a week. Of course that didn't always pan out with his schedule and kids but he made an attempt. If nothing else, he'd take them to the beach and let them get wet and filthy because apparently they loved that but getting out of town was good for them - and him.
Today was a sunny Wednesday and he didn't really feel like going to work. Being the boss had its advantages, that was for sure, and aside from a late day delivery there wasn't much to do at the bar. The dogs seemed to almost know what he was planning, or maybe they were just antsy after Jasper left. Lord knew Gavin was antsy.
Aaron always enjoyed going with Gavin when he actually left town, or at least he said he did. Gavin didn't know if he was just being nice. That was the difference between his brothers, unlike Caden, Aaron still tried to be nice. Either way, Gavin liked his company sometimes, especially when they weren't at work so Aaron wasn't trying his nerves. Out and about in nature was a good place to be and contrary to popular belief, Gavin wasn't all that thrilled about going alone. Especially after seeing off his son and feeling disconnected and isolated like he did today.
He texted Aaron around eleven to ask him if he wanted to come along and was quietly pleased when Aaron said yes.
"Come on then," he muttered at the dogs, grabbing the bag of snacks he was planning to bring with him and not bothering with their leashes. They were going straight to the car and then out of town so there was no need for that show of control.
Aaron had been being lazy around the house before he had to go into the bar. The Wednesday deliveries were his job to take care of, mostly because Gavin couldn’t physically handle the boxes well, and Caden didn’t want to. He didn’t mind it though, it was kind of like a workout. But he still liked to chill out beforehand.
He’d been a little surprised and definitely pleased to get Gavin’s text. He loved spending time with his oldest brother; he looked up to Gavin a lot. Almost hero-worshipped a little. He’d stepped up so much to take care of them while their parents were being extra shitty, he was almost like a surrogate father to Aaron. He was more than happy to sacrifice his lazy pre-work time to go on a walk with him. Plus it was always fun to watch the dogs run around and throw stuff for them.
He was dressed and ready to go by the time Gavin pulled up, sitting on his front porch steps. Aaron hopped up and flashed Gavin a sunny smile as he headed for the truck and climbed in. “Hey boys, hey!” he enthusiastically greeted the dogs, vigorously rubbing their heads in greeting.
Aaron's enthusiasm was matched by the dogs' enthusiasm and it prompted a little smile from Gavin. Out of everyone he knew, his relationship with his youngest brother was the least complicated. Maybe because Aaron wasn't complicated but also because there was nothing between them that caused strife. Gavin had looked after Aaron, now Aaron helped Gavin out. It was nice and straight forward. "Hey, Aaron," he murmured once the racket died down a little and he could get moving. "You doing okay?" At least Aaron wouldn't reply snarkily and it made him wonder why he couldn't have an easy relationship with his son they way he did his brother. They hadn't talked much this week, work had been busy and Gavin had shit on his mind - but then he always had shit on his mind so that wasn't exactly new.
Aaron told the dogs to settle down a few times, even though he was the one who riled them up, then sat facing forward again with a bright grin. He put his seatbelt on as Gavin pulled away from his place. The first thing that popped into Aaron’s mind was Mila at Gavin’s question, but he had to keep his mouth shut about that. Caden would probably get more pissed than Gavin would -- that was true of almost everything, it seemed -- but Gavin would almost certainly disapprove, and Aaron didn’t want to sour this walk right off the bat. His brother sounded kind of down, even for him, and Aaron was determined to be good company. “Yeah,” he said brightly, looking over. “Yeah pretty damn good. How ‘bout you?” It was best not to try to make up details. He could just be in a good mood for no reason, right? Right.
Aaron being in a good mood wasn't really all that suspicious so Gavin didn't think much of it, his own mood was a little trickier to explain if Aaron really started probing - which he probably wouldn't. "Yeah, M'alright," he muttered. A long walk would do him good, hopefully Aaron would just ramble on about cars or movies or something Gavin wasn't all that interested in but could listen to and forget the nonsense in his own mind for a while. "Did you eat already?" He'd brought food but if Aaron was hungry it wouldn't be near enough for them so it was better to stop somewhere on the way and fill up before the walk.
He wasn’t sure he believed that, but Aaron wasn’t going to push him to talk or anything. He never did that anymore, told to mind his own business one too many times. But getting some fresh air and exercise always helped him out of funky moods, so hopefully it would work that way for Gavin too. He didn’t go along on these walks every week, but enough that he felt like it was a Thing they did together, like how he spent time with Jasper working on his car, and how he crashed Caden and Roxy’s dinners every so often. “Yeah, a couple hours ago,” Aaron answered with a nod, watching the world go by as they drove. “So I’m good.”
"Okay," Gavin said and turned on the radio so neither of them would feel obliged to talk if they didn't want to. That way they could drive in relative silence for a bit, something Gavin actually liked. They hadn't gone far when he glanced over at his brother and tapped his fingers idly on the wheel, thinking. "Have you been spending time with Jasper?" He would never expect Aaron or Caden to really tell him anything they might discuss with his son but just knowing he was coming around and spending time with family was always a bit of a relief. Even when it was Caden.
Aaron could certainly run off at the mouth sometimes, especially when he was excited about something, but he didn’t mind amiable silence, either. It happened often with Gavin, and that was okay by Aaron. His thoughts about Mila were interrupted with Gavin’s question, and he looked over with raised eyebrows for a second while his brain switched gears. “Uh ... a little, yeah,” he said, sounding thoughtful. “He came around last week, I think. We changed the brake pads on the Malibu. He’s been working a lot, he said.” He almost asked why, but Jasper was Gavin’s son, so he had reason to ask, Aaron guessed.
"He loves that car," Gavin muttered and it was one of the few things he felt like he'd done right for Jasper, getting him that car with his brothers. That and his new phone maybe, but phones didn't feel as personal. They certainly didn't get as much love and work from Jasper as the car did either. In a small way Gavin felt a bit jealous and he wasn't sure exactly who he was more jealous of - Aaron or Jasper. He'd never had time or a mentor to figure out this car stuff and it was the one thing that seemed to really bond the guys. That Malibu was nothing like the piece of shit car Gavin had been driving at that age either.
“He does,” Aaron confirmed with a smile. Fixing up the car all of them had gotten for him had really given Aaron a chance to bond with his nephew, and he was kind of grateful for it. Their relationship had always been pretty good; Aaron had been so young when Olivia had Jasper, it was almost like they’d halfway grown up together. Sometimes the kid felt more like a younger brother than a nephew. But getting to actually teach him something, something tangible, it had given Aaron a sense of pride. Like maybe he was an okay uncle. He was still looking at Gavin’s profile as he let the silence settle for a moment, then asked, “Everything cool?”
Gavin let out a little grunt as he thought about that. Nothing was ever 'cool', but he supposed he couldn't complain right now. Amelia was doing okay, Jasper hadn't killed anyone and Olivia hadn't been around the bar to yell at him for weeks. "Yeah," he said belatedly, drawing out the word in a way that made it sound a lot less confident than he wanted it to. "Like to keep my eye on everyone, s'all."
Aaron stared at him for another few heartbeats. Even he could see that was a lie, and he wished vaguely that Gavin felt like he could talk to him more. He wasn’t the best at advice or anything, but he was a good listener. He thought often that Gavin needed somebody to listen to him more, honestly. Caden sure didn’t. Not about anything important, anyway. But Aaron couldn’t make him talk, and trying would only make him more silent, so he just nodded a bit. “Okay,” he said, reaching up to rub at Max’s head as he stuck it between the seats, then simply added, “I’m here if you need anything.”
Gavin's expression softened at that and he reached to his side to pet Max as well, patting Aaron's arm while he was at it. "I know," he said and he appreciated it. Sure, he couldn't count on Aaron for everything but he was a lot easier to deal with than Caden. At least when Aaron helped out he didn't spend the majority of the time reminding Gavin of shitty things or pressing his buttons. Aaron was right not to push him into talking, they could shoot the shit about things that didn't really matter and to ease the silence a bit, Gavin started chatting about the shows he'd been watching, checking if Aaron had been watching any of the same things. They were about the only things that made him feel content lately and it was a lot easier to laugh at other people's problems than it was his own.
Lucky for Gavin, Aaron was kind of a TV junkie, and they had pretty similar tastes. He was more than happy to ramble on about his favorites and the latest cool moments of those favorites, and even happier to listen to Gavin talk about the same stuff. They were very different people, and sometimes Aaron found it hard to relate to his oldest brother, but this was something they definitely bonded over. TV and dog-walking. By the time they reached their destination, Aaron was laughing and totally relaxed ... but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hype the dogs up some more. While Gavin parked, he twisted around to grin at the oversized puppies. “We’re here boys! You ready to run? Are ya, are ya, huh?!” He laughed as they bounced around on the back seat, tails wagging madly.
That was another good reason to take Aaron along. The dogs loved him and as much as they liked running around exploring things, they also loved playing and Aaron had a lot of energy. Gavin couldn't help but laugh as the car rocked from two big dogs bouncing around inside of it and there was no real weight to his muttered "Settle down." He killed the engine and got out, holding the door open for Max and Rude, laughing again as they all but fell over each other to get outside. "You'd think I never took them anywhere."
Aaron climbed out of his side too, grinning at how the dogs had already turned into blurs by the time he made it around to the driver’s side of the car, chasing each other around. It was hard to be in a bad mood when there were dogs around and playing. He tucked his hands into his pockets and started to walk alongside Gavin, at a much more reasonable pace than the dogs. He had plenty of energy, but that didn’t mean he was ready to go tearing around the field with them right off the bat. “You could do it every day and they’d act the same way,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Like little kids with short memories.”
"Yeah and they've got some time to make up for," Gavin replied since both his dogs had come from bad places where they sure as hell didn't get to play and run this much. It was a small wonder how loving and happy they were after all they'd been through, in a way kind of like Aaron because Gavin couldn't really say the same about him and Caden. "You never thought about getting a dog?" he muttered, fishing his pack of smokes from his breast pocket. "I remember you always wanted one when you were little."
“I thought about it, yeah,” Aaron said, giving an amiable shrug. “Just haven’t taken the plunge yet.” Truly, he wasn’t quite sure he was responsible enough to have a dog. He’d never had his own pet before, and having to take care of another living thing was a bit intimidating. Olivia had never even trusted him to babysit the kids alone, and that would’ve only been for a few hours. “Maybe soon,” he added, his eyes on Max and Rude running around. He probably needed a companion, he found himself lonely a lot when he didn’t have a girlfriend.
"Get an old dog," Gavin murmured since he didn't think Aaron had what it took to get and raise a puppy. There were plenty of older dogs in need of homes and many of them were well trained already. "I'll help you out if you decide to get one." He lit up a cigarette and shoved his pack back in his pocket then patted Aaron's shoulder. Honestly he thought it would do his little brother good having a dog, it might teach him some responsibility and he'd be less alone. Then again Gavin thought most people would benefit from having a dog in one way or another though it didn't mean most people deserved one.
“Thanks.” The gratitude in his tone was genuine, though he wasn’t surprised by the offer. His brothers helped him out with so much, and Gavin knew a lot about dogs, it seemed like. His boys were definitely healthy and happy. “You’re good with them,” he said with a little smile. Gavin might not have been a perfect human-dad, but he was a good dog-dad. Though Aaron supposed animals were a bit more easy to deal with than sons like Jasper. He took after them all too much sometimes.
Gavin smiled at that and shrugged one shoulder as he watched the dogs running around and smelling everything. "They make it easy, they balance each other out," he said and it hadn't been easy when he first got Max but Rude had been exactly what they both needed to make it easier. "Can't believe I thought that dog might be vicious," he added with some amusement. "I knew he'd be work but... I was dead wrong about the type of work."
Aaron laughed a bit, nodding. Max was a giant baby. It had taken him quite a while to accept anybody else but Gavin, too, but he’d come around. “That happens sometimes,” he said. “With people too, I think. They’re good boys though, I’m glad you’ve got them.” As much as he himself got lonely sometimes, Aaron figured it was probably worse for Gavin. He’d had a family and all, and now he didn’t. It had to be hard to give it up, whatever problems they had in the past. Not to mention, Aaron didn’t think he was seeing anybody, even casually. Dry spells always depressed Aaron.
"Me too," Gavin murmured and Aaron was right. He was lonely. He was also guarded and not ready to let anyone new in. The people close to him were already more than a handful, letting more people in just meant new and possibly worse problems. The dogs helped, he could talk to them even if they didn't talk back and they worshiped him, which felt nice. He wasn't nearly as dependent on sex as his little brother, especially after so long, so he was doing okay on that front for the most part.
If Gavin wasn’t technically still married, Aaron probably would’ve been trying to hook him up with someone already. He did know a lot of women, even ones that he hadn’t slept with, and several of them had drifted across his mind as possible matches for his biggest brother. But he knew that would probably go over like a lead balloon. Gavin seemed stubbornly determined to stay married and celibate for whatever reason. So Aaron hadn’t been nudging him back toward women. He let them walk along in silence for a while, just gazing around and enjoying being outside. He wanted to tell Gavin about Mila, to see what he thought about it, but Aaron was worried that he would get a lecture about running off all their waitresses. It didn’t feel like just a fling, not so far, but Gavin might not believe that. “Did you lose power the other night?” he asked instead, glancing over as they walked.
"Nah," Gavin replied. "Heard you did though, all of Seaview?" There had been a lot of people at the bar that night, many of them from that neighborhood, and Gavin had ended up going to the bar late that night in case it got too busy. Now that he thought about it it would have made sense for Aaron to come in too but if he knew his little brother at all he had likely been sleeping elsewhere. Or not sleeping. "The bar was fine, thank God."
“Yeah, the whole park was out,” Aaron said with a little nod. He was a tiny bit disappointed that Gavin’s power hadn’t gone out too, because he sort of wanted to ask him if he’d felt weird about anything that night. He had at his own house, and Mila’s house had been freaky, and it made him wonder ... Aaron always got the impression that Gavin was more superstitious than Caden was. He was more of a believer, that was for sure. So if he believed in God, why not believe in dark stuff too, right? “That’s good though,” he added in a murmur. “It was a bad storm. Bet you guys were busy, huh?”
"Yeah," Gavin said with a small frown as he thought back on that night. "Nobody wanted to stay home, not with the power out." There had been some drunken rambling about creepy things which wasn't all that unusual for Point Pleasant except that it had felt like it had been more... Localized. All in the same night, people talking similar things. It wasn't just the priest who got to hear people's worries about the darkness in town and for some reason there were people who found Gavin easy to talk to - whether he talked back or not. "Did you stay home?" he asked, giving Aaron a curious look. Aaron was pretty honest but they hadn't ever really talked about the things Gavin was afraid of.
Aaron considered lying about the entire night, but it would be easier just to lie about half of it. He would just have to make sure Mila was telling the same story. Not that Gavin talked to Mila much. His communication at work was mostly grunts and notes left for people. “At first, but then I went over to keep Mila company through it,” he said, keeping his tone casual. “We had some beer and chips and salsa.” And then they’d gone to a motel and had awesome sex, but that was the part Gavin would disapprove of.
Gavin could easily imagine how that night could have ended up. He wasn't oblivious to the way Mila looked at Aaron and he sure as hell wasn't oblivious to how much of a ladies' man Aaron was. He glanced over at his brother with a quirked eyebrow but said nothing about that particular topic, instead wondering about what else might have happened. "Was everything okay?" he said, not sure how to ask if Aaron had seen something 'weird' without coming off as crazy.
It was sort of an interesting question to follow up with, Aaron thought. He’d made it sound like a boring night, and Gavin had asked if everything was okay. Not how Mila was, but everything. He was quiet for a moment, considering whether he ought to be honest about that part or not. He’d been swinging between believing that everything he’d seen and heard was legit, and thinking it must have been him somehow, imagining shit. But Mila had seen and heard things too. “Things were ... a little strange,” he answered finally, glancing over at Gavin. “I dunno if it was just the storm playing tricks on us or ... what.”
Gavin nodded, his brows drawing together in concern. "I heard things at the bar," he said quietly. "Something wasn't right." It made him think of the things he had seen as a teenager and a cold chill went down his back. "Listen... if something happens you know you can always come to my place." He might not want Aaron hanging around as much as he did with Caden since it seemed to be driving their brother crazy at times, but knowing what was out there he would much rather Aaron came to him than trying to face it alone. Of course he was showing his hand now, making it a little too obvious that he did in fact believe in all these crazy things, but at least he didn't think Aaron would laugh at him for it.
Aaron felt a bit of relief at Gavin’s response. There was no eye rolling or dismissal, and immediately Aaron felt more on the side of believing it had all been real. If his big brother believed it, it couldn’t have all been in his head. “Thanks,” he murmured. He could have called Gavin, he knew, but for some reason he’d picked Mila. And look how it had turned out. Aaron felt like it was a little meant to be, at least. “But yeah ... something definitely wasn’t right. Mila was hearing it too. It was creepy as fuck, man. I never felt like that in a storm before.” Now that he’d put it out there with no derision, Aaron found it easier to talk about.
Gavin looked at him again and felt a sense of connection he hadn't felt before. His brother was all grown up and he remembered the first time he realized that Aaron wasn't just a dumb teenager anymore. Even then they hadn't really talked about things, not really. "Did you see anything?" he said quietly. "What did you hear exactly?" A part of him didn't want to know, he was scared enough already without more ghost stories to haunt him, but at the same time he wanted to be there for Aaron and believing him was already a big thing, something Gavin hadn't had since Ollie.
Aaron looked over at him again, catching his gaze for a moment. Gavin looked absolutely serious, and Aaron got the feeling that he didn’t just believe, he knew. “There was this ... whispering sound,” he said, his own tone quieter. Funny how they felt compelled to lower their voices, even out here with no one around. It was just that kind of vibe. “As soon as the lights went off. It kinda faded in and out, sounded like it ... changed distances, I dunno. It was right behind my ear as I was leaving. And I kept thinking I saw the shadows move outta the corner of my eye. Nothing really ... solid, though.”
Gavin shuddered a bit at that and while they were outside of town and he always felt a little safer out here it didn't help the chill taking over his body. "I've seen it," he muttered and it felt weird to tell someone as an actual adult man. Like it was somehow more stupid than when he told Ollie and his best friend Freddie back in the day. He'd been fourteen at the time and all the creepy things had felt more dangerous and more real, even to those who didn't experience them. "The shadow. I hope it doesn't come back for you."
His eyebrows lifted and Aaron stopped walking for a moment, putting a hand on his brother’s arm. “Wait, what? You’ve seen what?” he asked. That was new information to him; he knew that weird things tended to happen in Point Pleasant, but not that they had happened to his family. Not that kind of weird, anyway. He’d been seven when Gavin was fourteen, and it kind of sounded like he’d been kept in the dark about something.
Gavin squirmed inwardly a bit and tossed his cigarette aside, frowning at Aaron. "Don't go prattling about this to Caden, I don't need that kinda grief," he said in opening before sighing and scratching the back of his head. "I've seen the shadow. Other things too but mostly that shadow. Never heard it whispering but I know it's real." It had felt almost good to open up but now it was beginning to feel stifling the way Aaron was watching him, wanting more information. He almost wished he could have just put it out there and then left it at that.
Aaron shook his head at the direction not to talk to Caden. He didn’t talk to Caden about a lot, honestly. He wasn’t easy to talk to in general. They usually just spent time together watching football or something when they weren’t at work. “Like more than once? When?” he asked in a murmur, his brows drawing together. “What exactly did you see?” he wanted to know more detail, even if Gavin was reluctant to give it to him. He wouldn’t have called what he saw “the” shadow ... it had been more like twisty shadows, briefly shifting out of place the second before he looked at them. Like just over the line of a trick of the eye.
Gavin didn't talk about these things for a damn good reason. Mostly it had to do with people not believing him or thinking he was crazy and he didn't need that kind of stress in his life. It also made him feel vulnerable and that was the last thing he wanted to be with Aaron. Aaron looked up to him and he needed to be the strong one in the family and always had. That meant he couldn't tell Aaron had traumatizing it had been, how often it had happened, the nightmares that followed. He could only tell him basic facts. "A few times," he said and resisted the urge to light up another cigarette so quickly after that first one. "Not a trick of the eye, something black and solid moving... Started when I was twelve."
It sounded different, but the thought crossed Aaron’s mind that maybe if they had stayed at Mila’s with the lights off, the flickers in his peripheral vision would have become more than that. He stared at his brother’s face for a moment, his brow still furrowed. When Gavin was twelve, he would have been five. Just a baby, practically. Aaron wondered if Gavin had told anyone about this. “That’s fucked up,” Aaron murmured finally, then turned to start walking again. He still looked thoughtful. “But you didn’t hear anything when you saw it? No whispery shit?”
"No whispery shit," Gavin said and shook his head as he walked alongside him. Rude came running at them full speed with a stick in his mouth and that only meant one thing. Gavin crouched down and took the stick from him, ruffling his head before getting up again and throwing it as far as his strength would let him sending the dog sprinting after it. It was a small thing but just what he needed to shake off some of the darkness they were discussing. Still the memories lingered and he cleared his throat as he started walking again. "It had... white eyes. Every time I saw it I'd... see other things too."
Definitely different than what Aaron had seen. Or thought he had seen. He was pretty sure, anyway. Fuck, who really knew? Maybe it all looked one way to Gavin and other ways to other people, or maybe it had just been ramping up or some shit. Aaron was not smart enough to figure all that out, he just felt a mix of weirded out and grateful that his brother was confiding in him about this. “Like what?” he asked, glancing from where Rude had run off to back to Gavin’s face. Aaron felt like he was asking a lot of questions and maybe that was annoying, but he couldn’t help it.
"Hallucinations I guess," Gavin replied and talking about it made it seem so odd, like less of a big deal than it was in his head. "Like having a nightmare while wide awake. I thought I was crazy, schizo or something, for a while, but then it just stopped one day." He shook his head and this time he couldn't hold back on getting another cigarette. This shit was upsetting and upsetting meant he smoked more. "This town is evil, Aaron. Maybe the whole world is but this place especially... So you watch your back."
A chill ran down Aaron’s spine. He’d always had the sense that there was something Else out there, something Wrong, but Aaron had never heard it stated so plainly before. And because it came out of Gavin, that meant it almost certainly had to be true. Aaron absolutely believed him. He was silent for quite a while, throwing the stick once Rude brought it back to them, mentally chewing on everything. It all made him worry even more about Mila, and what she and Cruz planned to do. Well, him too, now. If the town was evil, then that probably extended to the woods too, right? “Does Caden know?” he asked finally, glancing over at his brother again.
Gavin honestly didn't know what Caden knew or didn't know, their brother was the type to laugh it off and if he was silently suffering from any of these things Gavin had a feeling he'd just laugh it off harder. "If he does then he's not letting on," he said quietly. "You don't breathe any of this to a soul now, you hear? Especially Caden. He gives me a hard enough time about church as it is." The cigarette didn't taste very good in that way cigarettes tended to get worse the more you smoked and he watched it burn up for a few seconds before tossing it aside again. It was a waste, but he was in a mood and he could afford them. "You know what he's like."
Aaron hadn’t meant in general, but specifically about what Gavin had been through. But what he said answered that question well enough. Gavin had told him not to talk to Caden about it at the start, but that hadn’t necessarily meant he didn’t know, just that Aaron shouldn’t bring it up. Caden could be a dick about a lot of things. But apparently Gavin had kept this whole thing to himself for years. Or at least kept it from his brothers. Aaron wondered if he would’ve done the same if it had happened to him. “Yeah, I know what he’s like,” he murmured with a faint chuckle. “He gives me shit about church too. But I promise, not a word.” Aaron considered telling Gavin what Mila wanted to do with Cruz, to trade some secret in the same vein, but ... it wasn’t really his secret to tell, was it?
Gavin smiled when Aaron chuckled, nodding slowly in agreement. Caden tended to give everyone shit about everything, that was just how he'd come out of the mess that was their family. He now felt a bit bad about not telling Aaron sooner though he wasn't even sure that would have been a good idea.Telling him now might not even be a good idea but that was life for you; endlessly doubting every decision. "You're a good kid, Aaron," he muttered and patted the back of Aaron's thick neck firmly but affectionately. Of course his brother wasn't a kid anymore but it was hard to forget that sometimes.
Aaron was a bit surprised at the praise, and it made him grin in spite of the ‘kid’ part of it. If he was being honest, he still felt like a kid most of the time around Gavin. Kind of in general, but especially with his oldest brother. Aaron reached over to pat Gavin’s back in return. If they hadn’t been walking, he would’ve turned it into a hug, but they were so he didn’t. It could wait. “I do all right, I guess,” he murmured, though he was still grinning as he did so. He just knew when to keep his mouth closed, that was all. Most of the time. About important stuff. That was why they trusted him like they did. “You’re a good brother, Gav ... I hate you went through all that alone, you know?”
"Eh," Gavin muttered. "I wasn't alone for all of it." Now why had he tossed away his cigarette. Thinking of Ollie just made him want to smoke again. He largely ignored the good brother comment, not at ease with acknowledging compliments. "So Mila, she noticed it all too, huh?" He'd never had that happen to him, sharing an experience with someone else. That had to be... Well, he hesitated to think it was nice but it was somewhat sanity affirming at least. "And you're both okay?"
“Oh yeah, she was pretty freaked out too,” Aaron said, letting his hand fall again. Rude came thundering up to them again, Max not far behind him, and Aaron wrestled the stick free to throw it up the path again. “But we’re okay. Having company helped.” So did getting the fuck out of that house to go to a well-lit motel, but Aaron bit the inside of his cheek on that. The mind-blowing sex they’d ended up having didn’t hurt matters either. Aaron glanced over at his brother. “I mean, it was pretty fuckin’ scary, but I think she felt better, having me there.”
Gavin nodded knowingly. He wasn't about to compare Mila to his dogs but he did feel better having two living creatures in the house with him and back in the day when things were really bad he'd often ended up sitting on the floor next to his sleeping brothers until he calmed down. There was something about another living creature just being there, breathing, living, farting, doing whatever living creatures did. For Mila it probably helped that Aaron was built like a brick wall. "It's no good being alone," he muttered and crouched down to ruffle Max's head as Rude ran for the stick.
Aaron agreed, which was why he really wished Gavin would officially divorce that crazy bitch, and move on with his romantic life. He was still young, he was still hot -- the women at the bar seemed to think so, at least, no matter how much Gavin ignored them -- he could find somebody, Aaron was sure. Dogs were one thing, a good thing, but people could be better. But that suggestion never went over well, so it was just another thing he kept to himself. When Rude came back again, Aaron got the stick away from him but instead of throwing it, he started running with it. Egging Rude on, he veered off into the grass to give the dog a good chase.
This was why the dogs loved Aaron Gavin thought as Max took off after them. He got to his feet again and chuckled as he watched the three idiots play. This was what he'd needed, a carefree little outing with his dogs and baby brother. He hadn't expected to actually get things off his chest too but there was a sense of lightness now that he had. Anxiety too, as if telling Aaron what he knew might put him more at risk, but for now that feeling wasn't as strong as the relief he felt. The dogs were going to be all tuckered out after this which was probably a good thing. He wouldn't have to feel bad about leaving them at home while he went to the bar.