Who: Adrian and Aaron When: early early AM, Saturday, June 9 Where: Black Cove
It had been a normal Friday night close for the bar, except maybe that Aaron was in a better mood than usual. He found himself telling some of their regular customers why he was so chipper, and sharing the news that he was getting married and having a daughter gave him a surge of happy energy every single time. A couple of people asked to see the sonogram and he started to regret that he hadn’t brought it along, or even taken a picture of it with his phone. He was definitely going to do that when he got home.
It was the wee hours of Saturday morning when Aaron locked up the bar and headed home. He was usually tired after closing, ready to crawl into bed next to Mila and doze off, but he felt good tonight, full of energy. He hadn’t even had his usual cup of coffee around ten. Aaron turned the radio up and cracked the windows as he drove, singing along to the music until he rolled into the Black Cove neighborhood. It wasn’t as trashy as Seaview, so he tried to be more respectful of other people’s hours. Aaron parked his truck in the usual spot and got out, breathing in the night air. He was still smiling as he quietly came into the house and toed out of his boots at the door. Aaron headed for the kitchen and was surprised but not really to see Adrian there, awake and eating. “Hey man,” he greeted, keeping his voice low since he assumed Mila was sleeping.
Adrian was starting to feel like he had an eating disorder, especially since he tried to keep all his 'snacking' to himself. He hated eating so much in front of them, especially Mila. It wasn't quite as gross as what he'd eaten in the car with them on their crazy rescue mission though so that helped, he'd cooked up some hamburger patties and actually helped himself to a healthy dose of green to go with it. He heard Aaron coming as soon as he drove up to the house so there was no surprise there and he gave him an easy smile when he entered. "Hey," he replied. "You hungry? I can throw some more of these on the pan." It could have been so awkward living with his sister and her boyfriend but Aaron was such an easy guy to get along with, Adrian never felt like he was in the way. It was a relief knowing Mila was with someone he actually liked both for her sake and his.
Aaron had spent enough time living with his brothers that it felt pretty natural to have Adrian there. Sure, sometimes he wished they had the house to themselves again so they could be as loud as they wanted in bed -- or actually indulge in some fun outside of bed -- but it was a small sacrifice. He knew Mila rested more easily with Adrian staying with them, and Aaron really liked the guy, so it was working out. Adrian was family to him, even if it wasn’t in a legal way yet, and Aaron would always help out his family when he could. “Nah thanks, I’m good,” he said with a good natured grin. It smelled good, but Aaron wasn’t really hungry. Just really awake-feeling. He went to the fridge to fetch a beer though, something to unwind with before he went to bed. “How’s everything here? Mila feeling okay when she went to bed?” They had texted a goodnight, but Adrian was his man on the ground while he was at work, and he would be honest.
Adrian absolutely took that role seriously and there was a somewhat unspoken agreement between him and Aaron to protect and watch out for Mila for each other. It had been that way since he got her from the tunnel and Adrian didn't think it would ever change. "She went to bed, then came back out and couldn't sleep so we made some popcorn and watched a movie. She went back maybe thirty minutes ago so she should be asleep." He told Aaron everything and he trusted Aaron would do the same for him because they were both worried about her and they both had plenty of reasons to be. "She was a little cranky about not being able to sleep but at least she doesn't have work in the morning."
He kind of loved having a partner in taking care of Mila, it was a comfort to Aaron. He knew Adrian would do anything and everything to protect her, just like he would. They were bonded in that way. He frowned a touch over hearing about Mila’s insomnia, cracking his beer open as he nudged the fridge shut behind him. “Yeah, that’s a good thing,” he murmured. Aaron had no reason to think she was still awake, so he wasn’t tempted yet to go peek in on her. She needed to rest. He took a swallow from his beer can and plopped down on one of the stools at the kitchen island. He wanted to chat with Adrian anyway, so he was glad not to be sleepy himself. “So I talked to Gavin today, told him all the good news,” he said. He’d also told him about Adrian, but he didn’t want to get into that part yet. “He said yes to being my best man.”
"I would fucking hope so," Adrian said with a little grin. He didn't really know the Lucas brothers all that well, just that they were a grouchy bunch save for Aaron who'd somehow managed to come out of that family all sweetness and smiles. Adrian was fairly in the loop regarding all the upcoming plans of the wedding and he didn't think it was that short of a notice considering how they wanted to do it. Close family and friends, nothing too grand, why spend months stressing and planning? "You're telling mom and dad tomorrow, right?" he asked before continuing with his food, giving Aaron a sympathetic smile as he chewed.
“I think so, yeah,” Aaron answered, which gave him all kinds of stomach butterflies. He knew that Mila’s parents liked him okay now, but that was different than happily accepting that he’d knocked up their beloved daughter. At least he fully intended on marrying her. He was dying to marry her, in fact, and then be the best father to their baby that he could. “Are you coming, do you think?” Now that Adrian had been resurrected in his parents’ eyes, it would feel a little weird to go over to the Morettis’ without him, but Aaron knew he might want to steer clear of the drama that might follow. “You don’t think your dad’s gonna shoot me, do you?” he asked with a lopsided grin.
"If you guys want me there," Adrian replied with a shrug and ultimately that meant it was up to Mila. He knew he'd be a good buffer, he had been one before he went missing and it wouldn't surprise him if that status had been fortified by now. "I'd worry more about mom, honestly," he added teasingly. "Don't worry, Mila will protect you." Obviously nobody was going to shoot anyone, the Morettis were not a violent bunch, but he was already imagining the inhaled mortified prayers from his mother. It had been exhausting at times, all that catholic guilt. Still was, if he was honest with himself. Only now he was a literal abomination and not just gay.
Aaron laughed a bit and gave a joking sort of grimace -- Adrian was right that Maria was more likely to get upset than his future father in law. Aaron realized for the first real time that he was going to have another father, a completely different kind because the Morettis were nothing like the Lucases. The idea of having a father figure who wasn’t a horrible man or his poor grew-up-too-fast brother kind of put a pang in Aaron’s chest. He was getting another brother too. It was all just kind of emotional whenever he started to dwell on it. It made him want to hug Adrian, but he was eating and Aaron had a question for him anyway. “Okay, so ... I don’t want you to feel like you gotta say yes, okay? But Gavin’s gonna plan a bachelor party for me, and I wanted to invite you along,” he said. “It’ll be like, my brothers and maybe a few other guys, a lot of drinking, the usual.”
Adrian had a whole lot of reasons to not want to go to a bachelor's party, the name alone made his stomach sink and he just narrowly avoided his smile fading. He didn't take Gavin Lucas for a camping sort of guy so that was probably off the table but still, it definitely brought up some harrowing memories. Even those aside, he could barely handle a single beer right now and partying with a bunch of drunk straight guys sounded like it could be miserable. But it was Aaron asking and Adrian tried to suss out if he wanted him there or if he was just inviting him along for Mila. "I don't know how fun I'd be," he said with a carefully crafted smile and arched his brows. "But if you want me there I'll be there with bells on."
He was conscious of the fact that Adrian’s whole life had been wrecked at a bachelor party, so Aaron wasn’t going to fault him for not wanting to attend, even if they were close. He just knew it would be weird not to ask, and if Adrian wanted to go, Aaron certainly wanted him there. They had a weird bond, and had shared a beer together here and there, but they’d never actually partied together, and somehow Aaron thought Adrian would be a fun drunk. Maybe he needed to let loose too, with camping totally off the table. “I mean, I totally want you there,” Aaron said with a lopsided grin. “But I’m not gonna cry in my beer if you don’t wanna come, I understand. Maybe just me and you could do somethin’ after? Our own brotherly thing.”
Adrian had been trying to hype himself up to go but Aaron was giving him an out, one that didn't make Adrian feel like he was letting him down by saying no, especially since he was giving him something else to say yes to. "Hey, whatever you wanna do, I'll be there for it," he agreed with a smile. "Leave the bachelor party to you and your brothers. I could pick you up if you want, something tells me you'll all be too hammered to drive." The relief he felt at not having to go was intense and god he felt grateful. He wouldn't admit to it but the idea of a bachelor party really rattled him and it was too easy to imagine Aaron getting killed in front of him in some gruesome way too.
“We probably will be,” Aaron agreed with a laugh. “Just don’t punch me in the nuts or anything if you pick us up at Cherries. My brothers aren’t super creative, and Mila already okayed it.” He grinned and tipped his beer up. Brothers were protective, he was one himself, but he hoped Adrian knew how much he loved Mila and that he wouldn’t do anything stupid. Aaron liked tits just as much as the next guy, but he knew where the line was between looking and cheating. “And me and you will plan something. ‘Cause I’m like ... so excited, man. I just wanna celebrate as many times as possible. We’re gonna be family!” He gave Adrian a sunny grin, that inexplicable energy still running through him. Maybe being a husband and father would be good for his health or something. “Did you ever even want a brother?”
Adrian just laughed at the overprotective part and while it did help to know Mila was okay with it all he knew bachelor parties could get out of hand. Hell, he wished Josh had wanted a regular bachelor party back in the day instead of some outdoorsy hiking shit to prove his worth or whatever the hell had been going through his head at the time. No, Cherries sounded pretty perfect as long as he didn't think about how he'd picked a very drunk guy up there once to sacrifice him for Mila's return. Aaron would be in a group, he reminded himself. Adrian was definitely picking them up. He was thankful for Aaron's enthusiasm keeping those darker thoughts at bay, nodding enthusiastically. "Of course I wanted a brother, couldn't wish for a better one than you." Sappy? Who even gave a shit! Aaron was marrying Mila, they were gonna have a little girl, Adrian was going to kill anyone and anything that threatened their well being, he was allowed to be sappy about it too.
Aaron couldn’t even express how happy that made him to hear, sappy be damned. Maybe the world needed more sappy, dammit. He leaned back and touched his chest, grinning so hard his cheeks hurt, then stood up and shuffled around the kitchen island toward Adrian. “C’mere, that deserves a hug, bring it in,” he said as he lifted his arms. He loved Gavin and Caden dearly, they were his brothers, but they weren’t a loving bunch, especially not in words. Aaron hadn’t realized just how much he needed that kind of affirmation until he’d started getting it. He gave Adrian a hard squeeze and patted his back. “I feel the same way man, I really do. I’m happy you showed up and tried to kill me.” Aaron laughed a little.
Adrian groaned softly as he hugged him back, that memory not exactly a fond one. "I'm still so sorry about that," he mumbled against Aaron's shoulder, clenching his eyes shut and wrinkling his nose in embarrassment. It was better to feel embarrassed than mortified at the thought of just how ready he had been to kill him. Now he knew Aaron would never hurt Mila and they were brothers, it stung to think about how much he'd hurt him. Then again so had Mila. As long as Aaron didn't make a habit of getting close to everyone who attacked him, he'd be fine. "I'm glad you can look past it, man."
He chuckled as he let Adrian go and stepped back. “Yeah totally. You were trying to protect Mila, how can I hold that against you?” He shrugged. Aaron knew people thought he was a little crazy for being able to forgive Mila and now Adrian for what had happened to him, but he didn’t care. He knew what felt right in his heart, and that was all that mattered to him. Aaron offered him another grin. “Water under the dam, man. Bridge? Something like that. Don’t worry about it.” He turned to go back to fetch his beer for another swallow. “Damn, dude, I’m not even tired yet.”
"Me neither," Adrian said as he plopped back down in his seat and scooped up the last of his burger. He glanced at the clock on the oven as he chewed, frowning softly. "It's past three in the morning, what the fuck." Aaron would normally be in bed by now, Adrian's sleep was a little more all over the place but since he started staying here he tended to be in bed shortly after Mila. Right now though he felt wide awake, he might have easily believed it was three in the afternoon if not for the darkness outside the kitchen window. "But hey, it's been an exciting week and I bet you're stressed about tomorrow." They should probably try to sleep if they were going to be dropping the big news on the Morettis.
Aaron didn’t think too much of it, since he was used to working nights, and Adrian seemed to keep weird hours sometimes. He just didn’t feel the usual level of tired he was on closing nights -- he generally just took a shower and crawled into bed, sometimes browsing his phone before he fell asleep, sometimes just passing straight out. He definitely didn’t feel like going out for a jog like he did now. “I guess so, maybe,” he said. Aaron didn’t feel too stressed at the moment, but he knew sometimes that shit lurked around in the background. Just to have something to do with his hands besides hold a beer, Aaron moved to start cleaning up the dishes Adrian had used while cooking. “I think they’ll be happy in the end. First grandbaby and all. We’ll take the ultrasound pictures with us, that oughta help.”
"They'll be thrilled once they get over the sinning," Adrian replied with a grin before he waved his hand at Aaron, his grin turning into a little frown. "Don't... I'll take care of that, it's my mess." He did feel bad enough about eating so much and cleaning up after himself was one of the few things he felt like he could contribute, but Aaron seemed a little hyper so maybe he just needed something to do with his hands. He meant what he said though, babies made everything better. Maria would no doubt cry, but a baby meant new beginnings, the purest of souls to be protected and all that shit. He knew just how much his mother loved children, his little niece was going to be so loved by everyone.
“Nah, shut up, I got it,” Aaron said, glancing over his shoulder with a little smile. They had a good dishwasher so it wasn’t even a big deal, and for whatever weird reason he just didn’t want to be sitting doing nothing at the moment. He needed to wind down and go to bed or he would hate himself in the morning -- or later that morning, technically -- but Aaron still felt full of energy. “I think it probably would be worse if Mila hadn’t disappeared,” he went on, then quickly clarified, “Your parents’ reaction, I mean. Like ... they know me now, they saw how much I love her, she’s back and safe, she’s making real money now ... yeah, it’s good. They got you back.” Aaron tossed him another little grin. “Just all good news on this side of the family at least.”
"I kept telling Mila she should use my return to her advantage," Adrian said with a little grin of his own because Aaron was right. There was a lot of good news and his parents were absolutely in the dark when it came to the bad things going on, so that was a good thing too. "Hey mom, hey dad, I'm pregnant and also, Adrian's alive. I mean, it'd soften the blow for her." Not for their parents though, it probably would have been too much all at once and the way they went about breaking the news was far better. "Ta-da, two family members for the price of one." It was supposed to be funny but as soon as he said it it just reminded him that they'd thought he'd died so a price had been paid for over five years. He made a little 'yikes' expression and cleared his throat. "Remember not to put the pan in the dishwasher, I'll wash that."
Aaron chuckled a bit. “I told her that too,” he said. “But one shock at a time, I guess.” He obediently didn’t add the pan to the stuff going into the dishwasher, just ran some hot water and squirted some soap into it. He wiped his hands off on a towel and then tipped his beer back to finish it off. Once Aaron had tossed the bottle, he passed by Adrian and squeezed his shoulder. “All right, man. I’m gonna get a shower and try to wind down. You stayin’ up long, do you think?” He didn’t feel tired yet, but maybe standing under some hot water, alone with his thoughts, would make him tired. He was ready to be sleeping beside Mila.
"I don't think so," Adrian replied since he didn't want to stay up all night, even if there was a certain comfort in being the 'night watch' of the house, making sure his people were safe while they were sleeping. He didn't want to sleep all day either so in theory he did want to go to bed. At the same time he wasn't tired at all and he had to wonder if it was a subconscious thing since usually when he slept he had at least one nightmare that he could remember, even if he didn't always wake up in a panic. "Might just go play some dumb phone game until I get tired enough to sleep. You good?"
“Yeah man, just wired for some reason.” He hoped that soaking in some hot water would help his mind slow down and then crawling into bed with Mila would take care of the rest. Insomnia wasn’t a problem he generally had, so he was sure he would settle down and get sleepy. Aaron still occasionally had his own nightmares, but for the most part sleeping with his woman was peaceful and perfect. He especially loved to spoon her and hold her belly, so he hoped she had dozed off on her side. “Night, Adrian,” he said to his brother in law, flashing him a smile before he shuffled out of the kitchen.
Adrian checked the clock again with a wistful little sigh. He should try to sleep, he just really didn't feel like it at all and it didn't really feel like it usually did when he stayed up too late, he wasn't sleepy but stubborn about it, he was just wide a fucking wake. "Night," he murmured before Aaron left, then got up to clean the pan and put his plate in the dishwasher. Maybe he just needed to get ready for bed and the sleepiness would eventually come. There was a lot of excitement going on, a lot of changes so he knew he was stressed even if he didn't feel like he was.