Re: Gavin & Mila
It wasn't in Mila's nature to be cruel, but even if she'd wanted to be, she loved Aaron too much to seek revenge against his brothers for what they did. If Aaron ever found out, she didn't think he would recover from it. Whether or not Gavin was sincere in calling her family, Mila didn't know but she supposed it didn't matter either. They were family now, legally anyway, and she was carrying his niece. All Mila really wanted from Gavin was to make sure he was always there for Aaron, preferably without the judging, shitty attitude. The past was the past and Mila wanted to try and keep looking forward. "I appreciate that," she murmured. She would sure Aaron would too. Mila wanted to ease the tension a bit, so she offered a softer, more sincere smile. "How are things with Charlie? Have you set a date yet?"
That was a safe topic because even if there was a chance Mila hated him, she liked Charlie who was an innocent in all of this - and absolutely far too good for Gavin. "Things are good," he replied with a faint smile, they had their ups and downs of course - most of the downs being him keeping secrets or being an idiot - but Charlie's calm seemed to carry them through it. "And nah, no date yet. Figured one wedding to think about was enough for now. Are you... Everything going okay, yeah? I told those boneheads in there not to fight or ruin anything, I think they've all been behaving okay."
Mila was all for safe topics today. It was her wedding day, so no, she didn't want to talk about heavy things, especially not with Gavin. And yes, she did like Charlie and yes, would have agreed with Gavin that the woman was too good for him. But no one could really help who they loved and despite her own feelings about Aaron's brothers, she could tell Charlie was good for Gavin. He seemed less miserable lately. Maybe if Gavin and Charlie had been together earlier, none of the horribleness would have happened. "They're behaving," Mila said with a small smile, moving to stand, as the stone bench was becoming uncomfortable. "Even Caden, which is... shocking, considering how many times I've seen him at the bar. You should stop worrying about everyone else though and try to have some fun. Everything seems to be under control."
Gavin had a feeling that the moment he stopped and relaxed, that's when everything would blow up. Like the balance of the universe relied on his anxiety. It was some messed up trauma response he hadn't really worked on and occasionally he did manage to relax for a bit without the world going to hell. These days it was mostly thanks to Charlie. "Everything is under control," he agreed and gave her a wan smile. "I'm keeping it there." It was a joke but... not. At times he felt like a mafia enforcer, giving people a Look when they seemed to be about to fuck up and hell, so far it was working. It had even worked on his dad a few times at the bar. My house - my bar - my wedding responsibility - my rules. He wasn't fucking around and if he had to throw someone out for bad behavior, he would. It'd be even easier now that his arm wasn't hurting anymore. It wasn't strong like it used to be but it made a world of difference not to be constantly aware of it.
Mila's lips twitched, because she knew he was attempting a joke, but she also knew Gavin well enough to know he was serious. She was of the mind that adult men should just behave, but... well, she had grown up next door to the Lucas family, and she knew some of Aaron's friends, so... behaving was a difficulty. At least Shan and Roxy were keeping their distance from one another. "Well, you're doing a really good job of it," she said after a moment. "It's... very paternal of you, believe it or not."