Aaron Lucas (thirdandlast) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-03-14 15:19:00 |
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Entry tags: | #october 2017, aaron, aaron x mila, mila |
Who: Mila and Aaron
When: Monday, Oct 9, wee hours of the morn
Where: Mila’s house
Status: Complete
Since Aaron had found out that Mila was pregnant, he’d been spending most of his nights at her place. It was just nicer than his, and he wanted to stay close to her, even though she didn’t really need anything from him yet. He still got her whatever kind of food she wanted and always went to help hold her hair back when she puked it back up. She’d laughed when he said he thought he could see a bit more curve to her tummy, and then immediately apologized because not in a fat way, in a cute way. Aaron knew on some level that the ‘baby’ was just a cluster of cells and probably didn’t even look like anything yet, but he still felt like it was there. Like it had a soul connected to his. No matter what his dickheaded brothers thought about it, Aaron was excited.
Mila had given him a key to her house, because that just made sense, so Aaron was home waiting for her on Sunday night. He knew she was closing, and he wanted to be up when she got home to kiss her and ask her how her day had gone. By that time rolled around, he was mostly upright but still dozing on the couch while old sitcom reruns played on the TV, his arms crossed loosely over his chest and his head cocked to one side.
Mila knew Aaron was waiting for her at home, and she had really been hoping that the drive to Seaview would have given her enough time to breathe and calm down so that she could just bury her anger and hurt and enjoy some time with Aaron before bed. Unfortunately, the quiet ride home had only made her angrier, because she hadn't been able to turn off her brain, and instead, she just replayed her conversation with Gavin to the point where she had thought about turning around a couple of times to drive back to the bar and give him another piece of her mind. One with more obscenities.
She didn't want to tell Aaron about it. He was already angry with his brothers, and she didn't want to be the cause of more discord. Mila tried really hard to take a few deep breaths as she walked up the small porch to her door and as she unlocked it, she closed her eyes and did her best to shake off the tension marring her body. Maybe she would get lucky and Aaron would be asleep. Or just oblivious enough that he wouldn't notice that something was wrong.
Mila licked her lips and stepped into the small house, her gaze immediately going to the couch where Aaron seemed to have dozed off. Despite her crappy mood and the exhaustion that came with it, Mila smiled a bit to herself and quietly closed the door behind her. She hung up her jacket and purse and thought maybe she could just wake him a bit and lead him to the bedroom where they could just go to sleep and not talk at all. Then in the morning, she would feel better and let things with Gavin go and Aaron would never know. Toeing her shoes off, Mila padded across the living room and reached out to rub her hand gently over Aaron's shoulder. "Hey," she murmured, not wanting to startle him. "Hey, I'm home."
Aaron didn’t hear the door with the noise of the TV in the background too, but he came awake with a little jerk when Mila touched him. He looked at her with wide blue eyes for a second before recognition kicked in, and he let out a huff and smiled. “Hey,” he murmured sleepily back, uncrossing his arms. His hands had gone kind of numb, and Aaron shook them out as he sat up a bit more. “Shit, sorry. Meant to stay awake.” He rubbed his numb hands over his face and stood up to hug Mila hello. Even though she smelled like the bar, she smelled good to him. He dipped his head in to softly kiss her too. “You hungry or anything?”
"It's okay. You don't have to wait up for me when you get tired. I won't be offended." Mila slipped her arms around him when he hugged her, and found she wanted to cling to him for the next few hours if she could. She was starting to feel emotional again and when Aaron kissed her, she found herself hating Gavin for trying to put doubts into her head. And maybe on some level, partially succeeding. She didn't think for a second that Aaron would abandon their kid when he decided to move on from Mila, but maybe she was already dreading the day that would happen. It was irrational and unfair and she wished Gavin Lucas was standing there in her living room so she could punch him straight in the face. "I'm not hungry," Mila said, but her voice was strained from emotion so she paused to clear her throat. "I'm fine. I'm just tired. Did you eat?"
Aaron liked to wait up for her. He still felt like a partial guest in her house for one thing, and he felt better going into Mila’s bed with Mila actually there. Secondly, he loved coming home to someone, so it only stood to reason that Mila liked it too. He enjoyed giving her hugs and kisses and petting her while she relaxed. He didn’t always get to do it, so he wanted to when he could. He’d been about to tell her he never minded staying up when she was speaking again and even he wasn’t stupid enough to miss her tone. Aaron’s brow furrowed a bit as he cupped her face in both hands to look into her eyes. Something was wrong. “Yeah, a while ago ... what’s up, babe?” he murmured, rapidly forgetting about food. “Sure you’re okay?”
Mila really didn't want to tell Aaron what had happened with Gavin. She knew it would only piss him off, or upset him, and she was exhausted after a long day of work, and then the emotional upheaval of talking to Gavin about things that were none of his business. But she was still trying to work through the emotional aftermath and she wasn't sure Aaron would let it go. Not to mention the fact that Aaron probably had a right to know what his family was doing. Mila sighed and brought her hands up to curl her fingers around his wrists. Not to pull them away from her face, but just to hold onto him.
"Gavin and I talked a little before I came home. It's... not worth repeating most of it, but I feel like he was trying to talk me out of having the baby. He said I was ruining your life, and that we were both going to be miserable." Mila felt a surge of fresh anger mixed with the hurt that still lingered and she had to bite back the urge to just go off on a tangent about how fucking awful Aaron's family was. "He told me I was going to end up raising the kid alone."
As soon as she said Gavin’s name, Aaron could guess what had gone on. Mila was obviously upset, and Gavin wasn’t likely to upset her over nothing. That was more Caden’s forte. Aaron’s stomach dropped uncomfortably as Mila talked -- even if most of it wasn’t worth repeating, what she did say was bad enough. Aaron’s jaw clenched and his mouth got tighter as his own anger and hurt flared up. Ruining their lives? Mila would end up alone? Aaron would expect to hear that shit coming out of Caden’s mouth, but Gavin was almost like a surrogate father to him, and that cut deep. He closed his eyes and took a deeper breath, his hands tensing a little bit against Mila’s face before he pulled them away and held one of her hands instead. “What a fucking asshole,” he exhaled in a rush, slipping the other arm around her shoulders to hug her to him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry he said that shit to you.”
Mila looked down, staring at Aaron's shirt as she nodded. Oh, she hated how emotional it made her. She was usually pretty good at letting her anger take over and putting people in their place, but now she just felt sad and tired and it made her feel weak. Mila stepped in and rested her face against his chest for a moment, just breathing in and out until she felt like she could talk again without sounding like she might cry. She wanted to push that particular emotion down and deal with everything else instead. "It sounded like it was projecting his relationship with Ollie onto us, like it was the same thing. Like we didn't fully understand just how this was going to change things for us. We're not fucking children, you know? And I probably said some things I shouldn't have said." Mila groaned and pressed her forehead against his chest for a moment before lifting her face to look at him. "We can do this, can't we? I don't want to ask our families for help. I don't want them to think we're complete fuck ups, Aaron."
Aaron just held her for that quiet few moments, trying to focus on comforting Mila over stoking the rage that was building in him. If Gavin had been there? Aaron would’ve hit him, he knew it. They hadn’t physically fought since childhood, but Gavin had so earned a punch in the face or fifteen. It was one thing to say it to Aaron, it was another thing to approach Mila unasked and upset her like this. He looked back at her, his nostrils a bit twitchy and his mouth still tight.
“That’s exactly what he was doing,” he said, taking a deeper, slower breath and doing his best not to fly into a rant about his asshole brothers. “He thinks because having a kid at sixteen fucked up his life, any kid any of us have will do the same, and it’s just fucking stupid. We won’t know everything ‘til we get there, no shit, but that doesn’t mean we can’t handle it. We’re not complete fuckups, and we can do this.” He squeezed her hand gently and kissed the bridge of her nose before looking at her again. “And I would never, never leave you alone to raise our kid. Okay? Tell me you know that at least. I’m not gonna be the piece of shit that my dad was. Or that Gavin was. Is.”
Everything Aaron said was exactly what Mila had been thinking. It baffled her that just because Gavin had such a bad experience, he thought everyone who had children would feel the same. Or fuck up the same. Ollie was a damn mess, and it was insulting to her that Gavin might actually think she and Ollie were anywhere close to the same. It made her feel better, hearing Aaron promise her that he wouldn't abandon her to be a single mom. Deep down she hadn't believed he would, but it still was something of a relief to hear him say it. Gavin might not believe it, but Mila didn't think Gavin knew Aaron the way Mila felt like she did. Not only in the past month, but for the past several years. "I know," she murmured, searching his eyes with her own. "Even if we don't... work out... I know you would never walk away from whoever this turns out to be." Mila motioned to her stomach with a faint smile. Mila licked her lips and took a breath before sighing. "It seemed like he was getting really angry. It was like he was the goddamn father instead of you. I just... I should've quit. I don't know what it's going to be like when I go back to work."
Aaron nodded slightly when she mentioned them maybe not working out, his gaze earnest as he looked back at her. He didn’t like to think about that, them not working out, because he really did have feelings for Mila that he’d never felt before, but Aaron was also realistic about some things. He knew he hadn’t been the best boyfriend in the past, people grew apart, that kind of shit. And maybe the baby would make things harder on them. Maybe they would break up. But the idea of having a little son or daughter to care for and teach things made the risk feel worth it to Aaron. Maybe the new branch of the Lucas family that came from him and Mila could be better.
He moved to cover Mila’s lower belly with his hand, wishing he could tell the little person in there that everything would be okay too. Mila really didn’t need to be stressed out like this, Aaron was going to have strong words for Gavin the next time he saw him. “You don’t have to go back, if you don’t want to,” he said. “I own part of the place, turn your notice in to me, if you want. I’m gonna tell him some fuckin’ things tomorrow, that’s for goddamn sure.” Aaron’s voice turned harsh for a moment, but he cleared his throat and tried to push his temper down again. He didn’t get angry about a lot of things, not like his brothers, but with something like this? Fuck. “Don’t let him get in your head. Or Caden, ‘cause he’ll be a dick about it too. Let’s just ... keep doing us, and they can suck on my asshole.”
Despite the mood, Mila couldn't help but tilt her head back and laugh at his phrasing. She covered her face with both hands to muffle the sound, but the laughter wouldn't ebb. It only seemed to get worse, and she had to chalk it up to her emotional exhaustion, but still. "Aaron," Mila said, dropping her hands to his waist as her laughter began to subside, though the smile remained on her face. "The last thing I want to even imagine is anyone sucking on your asshole." And Mila didn't really know if she wanted to quit or not. A part of her did, but she didn't have a back up beyond her jewelry and that wasn't a huge money maker. She would have to find another job, and fast. "I'll sleep on it though," she said, leaning in to press a kiss against his chin. "And I'm sorry this is becoming such a problem for everyone. I didn't expect it to be this bad."
In spite of himself, Aaron couldn’t help but grin along a bit as Mila laughed. It sounded slightly hysterical in a way, but it was better than her crying. “I dunno, it’s not bad-lookin’ for an asshole,” he murmured, though that was more a joke than anything. He’d never looked at it. He wrapped both arms around her to draw her into another gentle hug. “Hey, don’t ever say you’re sorry to me about any of this,” Aaron said quietly next to her ear. “You didn’t do nothin’ wrong. Everybody else’s shit is their own shit, you know? I love you and I wanna be with you and have this baby with you, and if you wanna do the same with me, then that’s all that matters. We’ll figure everything else out. And if you need to quit the bar, we can deal with that too. I’ll pick up more mechanic work or something, I’ll take care of you.”
She supposed one could say not being on birth control, or making Aaron use a condom, was what she had done wrong. And maybe it had been wrong, but she hadn't done it on purpose. Maybe Mila was stupid, but she wasn't that manipulative or malicious. She closed her eyes at the sound of his voice against her ear, finding it comforting in spite of the night she'd had. All that mattered was what Aaron thought, and what Aaron wanted. What they both wanted. They were the ones raising the baby, no one else. Of course, most of what he'd said to her had turned into gibberish, because she heard nothing else beyond I love you. Whether he meant to say it or not, it had Mila opening her eyes and pulling back to look at him, her fingers tightening in his shirt at his waist. "Wait... you love me?" Mila asked dumbly.
Aaron had just been rambling along, barely aware of what he’d said, and he blinked once at Mila when she looked at him like that. Her question made him realize what had come out of his mouth. He’d been thinking that he loved her for a little while now, and he’d gotten settled in his head about it, he guessed, so it felt natural to say. “Well ... yeah,” he murmured, looking sheepish all of the sudden. Aaron gave her a crooked smile, feeling a sudden flutter of nerves. What if it was too soon or she thought it was stupid or something? “I mean ... what’s not to love? You’re beautiful and nice and super hot and like the sweetest girl ever.” He searched her eyes, his brow furrowing a little. “I just didn’t wanna ... rush you or anything ...”
It was something Mila had fantasized about hearing for a really long time. When she was younger, she would daydream in school about Aaron Lucas declaring his love for her in huge, ridiculous public displays. As she got older, she tampered down on the fantasy, but it had always sort of been in the back of her mind. And now he had said it, so casually, like it just was what it was, and Mila found it was more perfect than all the fairy tale, rom com moments she'd concocted in her head as a girl. Mila smiled at him and brought her hands up to cup his face before she pushed up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. "I love you too," she murmured. Gavin Lucas was becoming nothing more than a distant memory and Mila nuzzled her nose to his. "I've loved you for a really long time."
He’d planned to tell her sometime, maybe not in some grand gesture, but at least in a nicer way than sticking it into the middle of a ramble about his dumb family, but this was good too. Better than good. Aaron’s chest felt like it gave a leap when she kissed him like that, and he grinned against her lips at hearing the words back. He hadn’t even really thought about that part, how it might feel to hear Mila say she loved him -- for a really long time, no less -- and the strength of the feeling caught him by surprise. Maybe it shouldn’t have, since not many people told Aaron they loved him on a regular basis, but it did. “Yeah?” he whispered, nuzzling her back. Aaron pulled Mila in tighter against him, though he tried not to squish her stomach too much. “I’ll try to deserve it. Because I love you back now.” He dipped his head to kiss her again, wanting to linger in it this time.
Mila had always considered the Lucas siblings to be pseudo-siblings of her own. She had grown up next door to them, had gone to school with them - Aaron and Kat, at least - and had been working for them for years. But nothing felt more important to Mila now than Aaron. He was really all she needed, and if his brothers couldn't understand that, then she didn't need them either. Mila had no idea what to do about work, or anything else, but she could worry about it tomorrow. Right now she just wanted to bask in the mere fact that Aaron Lucas loved her. Maybe they were going about everything all wrong and out of order, but it was what it was, and it felt like they could handle it. Mila smiled against his lips but kissed him back, thinking that it should make sense that something amazing would blossom from such a horrible night. "I'm glad you were here when I got home," she murmured. "I think I could get used to it."
His siblings had always been incredibly important to Aaron. Even Caden held a special kind of sway over him. They were his Family, and considering how badly their parents had sucked at being there and raising them, the four of them had pulled through and turned out mostly decent, in Aaron’s opinion. None of them had been to jail, none of them were junkies, none of them were bums on the street. Kat was even doing really well for herself. But something seemed like it was shifting. Mila, a girl he’d always dismissed in his head because of her closeness to the family and the fact that she was way too good for him, was feeling more like his Family these days. Mila and the baby they’d made together. And if one part of his family was rejecting another part ... it rubbed against Aaron’s sense of loyalty, but when he got down to it, his siblings didn’t need him. His girl and their baby did. So he would go where he was needed. “I’ll be here as much as you want me to be,” he murmured, smiling back a little. Aaron crouched a bit and grabbed the backs of Mila’s thighs to lift her up into his arms. “And in the bedroom ...” He grinned briefly at her and started to carry her in that direction.
Mila's arms wrapped instinctively around Aaron's neck and she laughed a little as he carried her toward her bedroom. She supposed she should enjoy how easy it was for Aaron to lift and carry her around while she could. They still had time, but Mila would eventually be too heavy and she would probably be waddling about instead. "I want you here all the time," Mila murmured as she kissed his mouth and then his cheek and jaw, "if that works for you. Obviously finding you in my bed is just a bonus." She was sure they would live together eventually, at least before or after the baby came, but Mila couldn't deny how nice it was to have Aaron around, especially now. She wasn't sure she would have gotten through the night without crying if he hadn't been there to make her feel better. Things weren't perfect, but that didn't matter. They would work with what they had. Everyone else could go fuck themselves.
Aaron felt like she would never be too big for him to carry somehow ... comfort was a different story, but whatever. He would be treating her like glass by that point, probably. For now it was nice to have her weight in his arms and her limbs wrapped around him. The kissing was nice too. Hearing that she wanted him around all the time made his chest feel heavy and warm, and he wondered if she had any idea what that meant to him. Once Aaron reached the bed with her, he set Mila down on the edge of it and kept moving down, kneeling between her thighs, his hands on her hips. Aaron gazed up at her. “I promise you I’m committed to making this work,” he said softly. “I’m gonna try my best.” He knew he might not be perfect at any of it, but he felt like he’d found a good woman who would forgive him as long as he stayed sincere about trying. He was going to prove his brothers wrong.
Mila wasn't looking for perfection. It was a concept that she was pretty sure didn't really exist anyway. Was it too simplistic to know that they loved each other and all they could do was try their hardest to make it work? Mila smiled softly at him and cupped his face. "I know you will," she murmured. "I'm going to try my best too. It's going to be hard, but I think we'll be okay. I think we just need to be honest with each other and not let our families get in our heads, you know? Cut out the noise, I guess." Because she knew for a fact her parents would give her an earful just as Gavin had. Maybe they wouldn't be as harsh about it, but the message would be the same. Mila leaned over to press a kiss on top of Aaron's head. "I love you."
Maybe it was simplistic, but Aaron didn’t understand what was wrong with that. Grown up life stuff could be complicated, he knew that, but he didn’t think the foundations had to be. He just wanted to do the right thing for once in his life, love and take care of Mila and their baby, be a family. Be a better dad than his had been. And he didn’t want to give up on himself before he’d even had the chance to try, for fuck’s sake. It sounded like Mila had some faith in him though, and that was exactly what he needed. Aaron nodded and tilted his head up to kiss her again. “I love you too,” he murmured against her lips, smiling reflexively. It just felt good to say. “Honesty, no noise, I can do that.” Aaron squeezed her hips gently. “And I’ll work hard so we won’t have to ask anyone for jack shit.”
It just didn't make any sense to Mila to give up something because other people didn't think they could handle it. This was her life, and Aaron's life, and that's all that mattered. They weren't kids who needed money and guidance. They could do this. "We'll both work hard," Mila promised. Even if she had to find another job, she would. "If our families can't emotionally support what we're doing, then that's on them. All we can do is worry about ourselves. And maybe they'll come around..." Maybe once they saw that she and Aaron were doing all right, they'd let up on their doubts. If not, there was nothing else Mila could do for them. "And it's not like they're all being pains in the ass. Your brothers and probably my parents once they know, but... we have friends, you know? We won't be completely alone."
So far everybody who knew was being a pain in the ass, except for maybe Roxy. Aaron hadn’t asked Mila how that had gone. But she was Caden’s woman, so who knew how reliable she would be for support. Not that he was going to say that to Mila, especially not right then. Aaron gave her a little smile and kissed the top of her thigh before resting his cheek on it, gaze drifting down to her stomach. It was still flat, but it wouldn’t be for long, and he kind of couldn’t wait to run his hands over it. “We got us, that’s all that matters,” he murmured, his eyes ticking back up to her. Aaron just looked for a moment before he sat up straighter and leaned up toward her for a kiss. “How’ve you felt today? I didn’t even ask, sorry. Besides Gavin being a giant dickhead.”
Mila knew that her friendship with Roxy probably took a backseat to Roxy's relationship with Caden, as much as she wished that wasn't true. But it was, so Mila knew she probably couldn't depend solely on Roxy to be there for her if she needed her to be. Right now, Aaron was absolutely right. They had each other. She just hoped it would work out. Mila had faith that she could be a damn good single mom if she had to be... she just didn't want to have to be. Mila stroked her hand over the top of Aaron's head as they fell silent for a few moments. She was content, and happy, despite how her evening at work had ended. She hoped Gavin had gone home miserable. Aaron's question prompted Mila to smile. "Besides Gavin being a giant dickhead, I've been feeling pretty good. A little tired, but I think that's just from work. Now I'm just feeling... emotionally spent, I guess. How was your day, though?"
It was nice to just be there and be petted. Aaron had always been an affection whore, but no girlfriend he’d ever had touched him as much as Mila did. He loved it. He needed it, really. And he was going to prove his asshole family wrong and stay where he was getting everything he needed. He knew the pregnancy and all wouldn’t be the easiest, but he’d been through not-easy things before, he could get through this one. He had a partner now who wanted to be with him, and Aaron wasn’t going to let go of that easily. “It was okay, nothin’ special,” he said, smiling back at her. “Just hung out around my place, tinkered with the truck, ‘til I came over here. Then hung out some more. And then my beautiful baby came home and here I am.” He pressed another kiss to her lips, then pulled back to look at her. “So what do you wanna do? Sleep? Bath? Footrub, backrub? Oral ‘til you fall asleep? Put me to work.” Aaron grinned a little.
It was honestly amazing how open Aaron was, especially with affection, compared to his brothers. Mila knew that Caden and Gavin had probably gotten the worst of their childhood, and maybe that stunted them, but still. She knew she was lucky. Mila hummed against his mouth and slipped her arms around his neck to keep him close to her. "You know, I was more than ready for bed when I was driving home, but now... I don't know, do you want to take a bath with me? We can relax for a bit, and then you can see how long it'll take you to put me to sleep with your face between my legs." The footrub and backrub sounded pretty damn fantastic too, but she didn't want to keep him up all night. Besides, she had a feeling she would appreciate those a lot more when she was further along in the pregnancy.
Maybe if Aaron had been somewhere else in the sibling pecking order, he would’ve grown a harder shell, maybe not. His childhood hadn’t been a cake walk either, but he’d been spared the brunt of the physical abuse, and then he’d had Kat to look after. Whatever the influence-soup had been made of, he’d ended up how he’d ended up, and maybe he’d actually found someone to appreciate it instead of pick apart all his flaws. Aaron hummed and smiled, staying as close as Mila wanted him. “Sounds perfect,” he murmured, nuzzling their noses together. He currently wasn’t even concerned about getting off himself, he just wanted to do everything he could to please Mila and make her feel better. Aaron kissed her one more time, then patted her hips as he got to his feet again and grinned. “I’ll even run it for us ... you got any bubble bath?” He started backing up toward the master bathroom door.
Her conversation with Gavin had completely dulled and faded away and there was nothing but warmth and contentment in the pit of Mila's stomach. She couldn't help but be immensely grateful for Aaron in that moment, because she could have very easily come home and cried herself to sleep, or worse, starting doubting her choices and wondering if Gavin had been right. But Aaron was here waiting for her, and he hadn't run off, or gotten spooked. He wanted to stay and make things right, and more so, have a future with her. Gavin was wrong. Mila smiled and watched Aaron stand and head for the door. A hot bubble bath with her man was just what she needed to end the evening. Even if nothing sexual happened after, maybe they'd both fall into bed and fall asleep together, it would be perfect. "There's some in the blue bottle in the corner of the bathtub," she said. "I got it from that botanical store. Don't use more than a capful though, or we may get more bubbles than water."