Aaron Lucas (thirdandlast) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2023-08-17 08:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #july 2018, aaron, adrian, caden, gavin |
Who: Aaron, Caden, Gavin, Adrian, various NPC bros
Where:Cherries
When: Saturday night, 7/14
Warning: druuuunk
The bachelor party had gone swimmingly. Aaron was sufficiently drunk after being sufficiently traumatized - both by getting fake-arrested and then getting forced to do blind folded bungee jumping - which of course turned out not to be off the Overlook cliffs but actually onto a nice, safe mattress. Everyone but Gavin and Adrian was already drunk by then and it was a rowdy crowd with Aaron's buddies there too. They plopped a jester hat on him - after making sure he hadn't pissed his pants - then dragged him to the marina for dinner and of course more drinks before Cherries.
Gavin was actually having an okay time, even if he felt like he needed to be chaperoning. He had no idea how Adrian had convinced the two cops to participate - maybe they'd done it for free, just because they were itching to arrest a Lucas brother, that wouldn't have surprised him. He also didn't know the bungee jump guy, but he supposed Adrian still had connections even if his best friends were all dead. He seemed to be having a great time too and surprisingly, so did Caden. With all the shit that kept happening, it was nice to see his brothers laugh and while he barely knew half of the guys there for Aaron, none of them was overly annoying - but maybe that was just because of the fact he was used to working at the Porch and had years of experience with his bad drunk of a father. It was hard to outdo the old man's legacy of spreading misery.
By the time they got to Cherries he felt like he could relax a little and have a drink. Everyone's attention was on the ladies and they had a good table to themselves with plenty of drinks incoming. He sat down next to Aaron for now, slinging his arm over his shoulders as he poured him another shot of tequila. "You know it's not a bachelor party if you don't get alcohol poisoning," he teased good naturedly, just echoing shit that had been said to him all those years ago.
Aaron was having an amazing time. Being fake-arrested had been confusing and scary as hell, but once he’d caught on to the fact that it was a prank, he’d laughed his ass off just as much as the other guys. With the ‘bungee jump’ too -- though by that point he’d kind of expected some sort of trick. Still, it was all in good fun, and Aaron just ate up all the attention and effort that had been put into fucking around with him. With his brothers and his friends around him, it felt like old times in high school, when he’d been on teams and kind of popular for a Lucas. It also felt really freeing to get as drunk as he wanted to get without having to worry about getting home or anything. He knew Gavin and Caden and Adrian would make sure he was okay, and it was really nice to have them to lean on during this special celebration.
He was still upright at their table at Cherries, so that was something, but he was definitely a couple of sheets to the wind. That was okay, Aaron was enjoying the fuck out of everything and everyone, and it seemed like the rest of the boys were too. Aaron leaned into Gavin with a big grin, his eyes on the fresh shot. “Heyyy, good thing we got us a nurse then!” he said over the music as he reached for the shot glass. “Adrian! You can make me puke, right?” Aaron knocked the tequila back without waiting for an answer.
Adrian had no idea about the context of the question which he only just barely heard so he gave Aaron a bewildered look from across the table. "Does he want to puke?" he mouthed at Gavin with a questioning gesture at Aaron but it didn't really require an answer and he was in the middle of chatting with one of Aaron's friends.
"We've got a nurse," Gavin agreed after giving Adrian an amused little shrug. "But I'm sure we can all make you puke." He wasn't really worried about alcohol poisoning, Aaron was a Lucas after all, he was pretty sure alcohol was part of their DNA at this point. "No puking on the strippers though and no puking inside the club." He fished out a wad of bills and stuffed them in Aaron's shirt-pocket. "Speaking of which, go get some strangers' tits in your face while you still can."
Caden would leave the puke inducings up to Gavin. He was pretty sure Aaron could hold his liquor, but he also had no idea how long it had been since Aaron got this drunk. Holding his fresh beer, Caden sat down at the table with his brothers. "Last time we were here Aaron did more than shove his face between some tits. Got laid by one of the waitresses." Snorting, Caden took a drink and slapped his hand against Aaron's back. "Probably best to just stick to tits tonight though."
Aaron’s eyes widened comically and darted straight to Adrian, getting a spike of fear that he would overhear. The waitress-hookup had been before he’d gotten with Mila, and he didn’t want Adrian to think it had been anything recent -- they were fast becoming brothers, but Aaron knew Adrian’s loyalty was rightly with his sister. “Nuh uh!” he protested to Caden. “That was a long time ago -- that wasn’ the last time, last time was after dad -- after the uh, the Jasper thing.” They’d gone to Cherries together after burying their father in the woods, with his ruined face and blood everywhere. The gory image bubbled up fresh in his mind, and Aaron reached for another shot to occupy his drunk mouth. He knew Gavin wasn’t supposed to know what had really happened, it was just so hard to keep track of who really knew what. Aaron patted the money in his pocket and started to stand up to get closer to the stage. He couldn’t get a lapdance, but he could tip the girls and get a good show, at least.
There was a lot of opportunities there for misunderstandings - or worse yet, understandings - but thankfully Adrian was busy talking to Marshall and Gavin kind of intentionally blocked out what he understood to be 'the bad situation' nobody really wanted to talk about. He was focused on everyone having a good time tonight, grinning as he turned to watch his little brother go. "Well, I don't think he's doing that tonight with Mila's brother here," he said jovially, glad to see some of Aaron's buddies got up to follow him to the stage. Gavin wasn't really gagging to be there, he could keep an eye on things just fine where he was sitting. "Moretti, you're not a snitch, are you?" he said just loud enough to be heard and earned himself another bewildered look from Adrian who just wasn't picking up on what anyone was saying on this side of the table with the noise going on around them. Gavin gave him a dismissive wave and a grin, turning his attention to Caden. "We never got to throw you one of these," he said and while to him it was more of a chore than pleasure, it still didn't feel all that fair. "Sneaky bastard."
"Nah, even without Moretti here, he's keepin' his dick in his pants," Caden said with a huff, stretching his legs out a bit. As far as Caden knew, Aaron had never really been faithful to a woman until Mila. And despite Caden's own feelings about her, he was finding that he was actually happy that Aaron was happy. The guy had been through hell, so he deserved something good. It could have been the liquor talking, but it was the truth. The thought of having his own bachelor party made him snicker. "Never thought I'd get married, so..." Yes, he had proposed to Roxy but for some reason Caden hadn't really thought they'd ever get married. It was stupid as fuck, and he knew it, but it was what it was. Not that it mattered now. "You're gonna have one though," he told Gavin, clinking his wedding ring against his beer glass. "Somewhere high class."
Gavin huffed softly and then it turned into a quiet laugh. "I'm not doing any bachelor bullshit, already did that," he said because there was no way he was letting anyone put him through what they'd put Aaron through today. The wedding however? That he wanted to do, something small but beautiful, something that would make Charlie glow with joy but not put too much pressure on her. There he was again, overthinking and toeing some imaginary line, trying to avoid the disasters he was so sure were hiding behind every corner. "First marriage means a bachelor party, you just broke the rules a lil."
"Eh, fuck the rules," Caden said before taking another drink of his beer. It blew his mind that the three of them would all be married in the same year... unless Gavin and Charlie pushed it off, of course. "And we're gonna do something for you before Charlie nails you down, even if it's not getting you fake-arrested and shoving some tits in your face." Aaron looked like he was definitely enjoying tipping the dancers up by the stage, so he figured they'd done their job. He glanced at Gavin. "Notice how good life has gotten lately? Since the old man went away?" Not that he wanted to think about Joseph at the moment, but he had to admit, the old man had been a curse on their family. Now he was gone and things felt like maybe they'd be okay.
He wasn't wrong but Joseph Lucas was the last thing Gavin wanted to think or talk about right now and a mix of feelings shot through him, not numbed enough by alcohol. Caden was right, things were better, but admitting it felt dangerous for some reason, like something might take notice of them. It was laughable if he really put his mind to it, terrible things were still happening, but he felt safe at the moment, protected by strong magic, his body not complaining from pain anymore. And yet... "Shh, don't jinx it," he said rather than try to tackle any of these thoughts with any nuance, instead slinging his arm around Caden's shoulders and pulling him to his side in a squeezing hug. "Just enjoy it." He gave his younger brother a little grin. "So you're happy? With your wife?" There was teasing there, of course there was, considering everything, but Gavin was genuinely happy for Caden if that was the case.
If there was a way to jinx all of this, it would definitely happen. The Lucas family didn't catch many breaks. Caden was glad Joseph was gone, but of course he had to be haunted by the manner in which it happened. Flashes of that day continued to plague him, the sight and the smell of it all, and Caden took another long drink from his beer before glancing at Gavin. At least Gavin and Kat didn't have to live with the knowledge of what had really happened. Even when he was feeling his lowest, or pissed off at them, and the world, Caden didn't want to put that on their shoulders. "I'm enjoying it," he said with a nod. "And yeah, I'm happy I guess. As happy as we can be, considering where we live. These ladies latch onto us... can't help it, I guess." He grinned again and shrugged.
All it took was a glance at Caden's mangled hand to remember they really were cursed and Gavin felt that familiar wave of guilt and sadness as his mind strayed that way. Thankfully Caden brought up their women, the one thing in their lives that seemed to be a blessing - at least now. It certainly hadn't always been that way. "Yeah I don't know what they see in us," he said. "With our ugly mugs and bad temper." He reached up and grasped Caden by the jaw, giving his face a gentle little shake. "Look at that scowl. The Lucas pit pull look. I'm not sure how Aaron's related to us with his Golden Retriever face and attitude."
There were times Caden forgot all about what D'Onofrio did to his hand. Like it was a hazy memory he had dreamed. Hell, sometimes it still felt like he had those fingers, until he realized he didn't. But he didn't want to think about that asshole at the moment or he would try to convince his brothers to go burn D'Onofrio's house to the ground. Preferably with him in it. Burning witches sounded like the kind of hobby he could get behind. The O'Reilly's excluded, of course. "Speak for yourself. My mug is pretty good looking." He batted Gavin's hand away and chuckled, bringing his drink back up to his lips. "Aaron's got as much Lucas in him as we do... he's just suppressed it all. Too desperate for love." While he and Gavin spent most of their lives pushing it away.
Gavin couldn't say much, now that he had love he wasn't sure how he'd cope without it. The thought of going back to spending his time alone with a bottle in front of the TV was depressing as hell and he was actually a little sad Charlie wouldn't be there when he crawled into bed tonight. It terrified that part of him that was so sure nothing good would ever last and that by being happy he was dooming everyone around him, but that wasn't something he was going to say out loud. "Looks like we all got what we needed," he said instead because it really seemed like Shan was doing Caden some good. He just wished thinking about Mila didn't bring up the thoughts of how fucked up they'd behaved; if he could erase that part of their story, he would. He couldn't though and the thought that she might have kept that first baby, maybe married Aaron sooner, maybe not gone to the tunnel - it washed over him and he took another sip of his beer, willing it all to go away again. "You sheltered Aaron," he muttered. "He got to be a little softer."
"You sheltered him as much as I did," Caden pointed out. "Aaron and Kat both." At least until he had knocked up Ollie and had to get married and deal with being an adult at such a young age. Once Caden had begun to fight back, things hadn't been terrible at home. Bad, yeah, but not terrible. He lived for the times when Joseph would try to put his hands on him, or his siblings, because Caden would take any excuse to hit his old man in return. "Better Aaron having the kid instead of us," he added. "That baby'll have a chance." Jasper and Amelia were doing okay, but they had gone through fucked up shit as much as any of them. Maybe it was true that trauma was a generational thing.
Oblivious to the serious-but-vaguely-positive conversation being had about him, Aaron decided to take a break from vocally admiring and tipping the dancers. He made his way back to the table, leaving some of his buddies up there by the stage to keep raining money on the girls. Aaron flopped into the seat next to Caden and slung his arm around his brother with a big grin. He just wanted to hang all over everybody tonight, to slather all of his favorite men with the love he didn’t get to show them very often in their day to day lives. Plus when he drank, he got even more hungry for physical affection than he usually was. “You guys havin’ fun?” he asked his brothers, reaching for a beer that he wasn’t even sure was his.
Caden trailed off as Aaron rejoined them. Yeah, his brother was wasted. But it spoke volumes that even in a drunken state, he wasn't pawing at the dancers or wanting to hit on them. "A blast," he said dryly, lifting his glass in salute. He wasn't lying, of course, but it wouldn't be in his nature to say so. "You're doin' a good job, behaving yourself," Caden added. "Guess we didn't need Gavin to babysit your ass tonight after all."
"Aaron's a good kid," Gavin said. "I was more worried about his friends." He remembered them being a lot rowdier but they were all fairly well behaved tonight. Maybe they weren't even all the same guys Gavin vaguely remembered from the last time he'd actually met a big crowd of them - or maybe they'd just done a little growing up since then. The night wasn't over of course and the alcohol was still flowing. Aaron had always had a weird mashup of friends, he didn't discriminate in either direction so this group looked pretty varied.
Aaron practically glowed at the compliments, thrilled by any approval from his big brothers, even if it came in sideways. He had gotten too drunk at Cherries in the past and made an ass of himself with the dancers, but tonight he didn’t even feel tempted to do anything but hoot and holler at them and tip generously. Looking was enough. “You guys are behaving too!” he pointed out after he’d slurped down some beer. Aaron rubbed his hand over Caden’s short hair and grinned at Gavin. “Buncha pussywhipped brothers, right?” he tittered. Had they all ever had serious women in their lives at the same time? Aaron didn’t think so. And by this time next year they would all be married! Unless Caden and Shan divorced, of course.
Aaron's friends were all idiots, if you asked Caden, but since this was Aaron's bachelor party, Caden had decided to keep his mouth shut about it. He was capable of burying the asshole-nature of his personality when he really wanted to. Snorting at Aaron's comment, Caden batted Aaron's hand away and took another drink. "Shan would cut off my dick if I fucked around," Caden said. "And I like my dick. And Charlie would... probably scold Gav." He snickered. "Though he may be into that."
"She'd be disappointed," Gavin said and that was worse. He couldn't imagine Charlie getting all upset about it, but he could imagine her leaving and that put a cold, heavy lump of dread right in his gut. "I don't need threats to keep my dick to myself, none of these women do anything for me." He picked up his beer and drank, wondering if his brothers felt the same. He thought they did, at least Caden. As far as Gavin knew he'd never cheated on Roxy in the past and he'd had plenty of opportunity. Drunk women at the bar tended to flirt with the bartenders and the Porch had plenty of good looking staff.
Aaron tittered as he imagined the disappointed lecture Charlie would give Gavin if he strayed. It wasn’t really in his personality to do so, Aaron didn’t think he’d ever even cheated on Olivia, and she’d been a heinous bitch to him at every opportunity. He’d long suspected that his oldest brother didn’t like sex the same way he and Caden did, though Aaron supposed if it had saddled him with a kid at fifteen and a horrible wife, he might be more gun shy about it too. “No? You more into naughty teachers?” Aaron teased with a big grin. “Gettin’ spanked with a ruler? So wholesome.” His gaze drifted to the dancers again as he downed some more beer. “They’re hot, but not as hot as Mila, so,” he added with a dismissive shrug. Aaron enjoyed looking, but he felt no urge to do more than that anymore.
Caden groaned and slouched in his chair a bit. "Fuck, we're fuckin' pathetic." Sitting there with hot women undressing in front of them and the three of them were keeping their dicks in their pants. He'd jumped from one long term relationship into another - though it was to be determined just how long term his marriage would actually be - and he hadn't enjoyed being single at all. Not that he was really into bed hopping anymore. That had been fine in high school and for a few years after, but he didn't trust women much. Growing up in the Lucas household, and seeing what Ollie had done to Gavin... why would he?
"None of these ladies want our hands anywhere near them," Gavin said after giving Aaron a small disapproving frown at his speculations about his sex life. He was inclined to think it'd be more pathetic to try to get laid with the strippers than not. "They want our attention, our money and our gratitude for seeing their tits. No more, no less."
“Well they got plenty of that,” Aaron declared with another easy grin. He was unfazed by Caden’s disappointment in them or Gavin’s disapproval. He felt too good to be bothered by any pessimism his brothers could throw at him -- they could be dour all they wanted, Aaron was just thrilled they were there with him for his bachelor party, along with all the rest of his favorite guys. Some of whom were single enough to maybe do some of the hooking up that he and his brothers couldn’t do anymore. Either way, Aaron was having a damn good time. “Another round?” he asked as he stood up, cocking a brow at his brothers. He wasn’t totally steady, but he would make it to the bar. “Another round!”